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Director of Library Services, The Corning Museum of Glass, Rakow Research Library, Corning, NY

The Corning Museum of Glass seeks an experienced and innovative library professional as the Director of Library Services. This position offers a unique opportunity to lead the Museum’s renowned Rakow Research Library, a well-resourced institution open to the public that houses the world's most comprehensive collection of materials on the art and history of glass and glassmaking. The Library collection ranges from medieval manuscripts to original works of art on paper to the latest information on techniques used by studio artists.  The archival holdings comprise over two hundred manuscript collections, including artists’ and collectors’ papers, gallery records, and corporate archives.

 

The Library serves an international audience and strives to provide outstanding online access to its collections. Through collaboration with curators and museum educators, Library staff integrate the Rakow’s unique holdings into the Museum’s interpretive mission. The Library partners with other cultural heritage institutions to enrich and contextualize the stories behind the production and use of glass. The Museum’s culture of innovation poises the Library to make significant contributions to emerging fields, including digital humanities and the preservation of unique born-digital content.

 

The Corning Museum of Glass (CMoG) is a not-for-profit museum dedicated to telling the story of a single material: glass. Annually welcoming 460,000 visitors from around the world, its campus is home to the world’s most comprehensive collection of glass, the world’s foremost library on glass, and one of the top glassworking schools in the world. Nearly 50,000 objects representing more than 3,500 years of history are displayed in the galleries; items range from the portrait of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh to contemporary sculpture. The Museum’s highly regarded curators and librarians actively acquire materials; and curators, librarians, educators and artists organize special on-campus and traveling exhibitions; teach; conduct and publish extensive research; host numerous artist residencies and public presentations; and showcase daily demonstrations of contemporary glassworking. The Corning Museum of Glass’s authority on glass art is felt around the world.

 

The Museum is a center for glass scholarship. A key component of the institution is The Juliette K. and Leonard S. Rakow Research Library: the world’s foremost library on the art, history and science of glass and glassworking. The Rakow’s mission is to acquire everything published on the subject of glass, in every format and in every language. This invaluable resource for scholars and artists also offers an exhibition space for curated exhibitions that bridge the Library’s rich collections with rare books, objects, materials and stories that interpret the Museum’s various collections in exciting and inspiring ways. In addition, the Museum regularly publishes journals, educational videos and scholarly publications — many of which can be accessed on its content-rich website. Both the Rakow and glass collections are available on the website and are fully searchable across both collections.

 

Read more about the city of Corning and the Corning Museum of Glass Download the expanded job description

 

https://www.cmog.org/sites/default/files/DirectorofLibraryServices_expanded_0.pdf

 

Position Overview – Director of Library Services 

The Director provides leadership, direction and oversight of stewardship and administration of all library operations, including collection management, public services, archives, digital and print collections, digitization, preservation, rights and reproductions and licensing and digital initiatives. Develops and manages the collections development policy and supporting strategies. Serves as a member of the Museum’s leadership team representing the interests of the diverse internal and external, local, and global user-communities.

 

Responsibilities:

Leadership

·         Develops vision and strategic plan for the Library and guides implementation.

·         Builds and maintains relationships nationally and internationally to further the Museum’s leadership role.

·         With the President and Executive Director, formulates the Museum’s acquisitions strategy and regularly attends acquisitions meetings.

·         Works with internal and external stakeholders in proactively researching and recommending acquisitions in alignment with the collections policy.

·         Works closely with Chief Information Officer to strategically advance the library through the ongoing adoption of current digital practices in providing open access, collaboration and preservation.

·         Collaborates closely with the Advancement Department to steward gifts, including grants, made in support of the Library

·         Builds consensus and fosters synergies between Library teams and Museum staff in the development of programming and other institutional initiatives.

·         Conducts and leads collection-related research and assessment as necessary in support of the resource allocation, prioritization and collection policy development.

·         Cultivates Library’s relationship with the Fellows of The Corning Museum of Glass and works with the Advancement team to foster relationships with other existing or potential Library donors in support of stewardship activities.

·         Publishes and presents at professional conferences.

·         Actively promotes the Library globally to build awareness and use.

 

Management/Administration

·         Hires, mentors, supervises and supports development of all library staff.

·         Serves as the voice of the department to the Leadership Team and other teams as requested.

·         As a member of the Leadership Team, participates in setting the Museum’s long-term goals and ensures that they are carried out within the directorate.

·         Recommends new program initiatives to fulfill the Museum’s goals and works with the staff responsible for seeing them through to completion.

·         Develops and oversees the Library’s annual budget and serves as an active participant in institutional long-term financial planning.

·         As a member of the Leadership Team, attends Board of Trustee meetings.

·         Oversees and participates in Library committees in the development of policies and procedures for physical and electronic collection access, open access, preservation and conservation and oversees adherence.

·         With the President and Executive Director and the curatorial staff, provides strategic oversight for the development of future exhibitions and/or loan of Library materials.

·         Works closely with the Marketing Department and Exhibitions Planning team to ensure the Library’s programs, services and exhibition are marketed as effectively as possible.

·         Collaborates closely with the Advancement Department, including its Manager, Institutional Giving, to initiate, complete, submit, and provide respective required reporting for various grant funding applications.

·         Manages major projects for the Library, such as space planning, acquisition of equipment, etc.

·         Develops strategies to increase the use and promote the relevance of our collections to various museum constituents worldwide.

·         Ensure that the Library maintains the highest level of legal, ethical and safety standards.

 

Qualifications:

·         Minimum five years administrative management experience in a museum, academic, special collections, or art research library and/or archive.

·         Master’s degree in Library and Information Science from an ALA-accredited program; graduate study desirable, in field(s) related to the Museum’s/Library’s collections.

·         Ability to demonstrate digital literacy at the end-user, administrative and strategic perspective.

·         Demonstrated ability to think and lead strategically in support of the planning, evaluation and assessment of library operations.

·         Excellent interpersonal and oral/written communication skills and the ability to collaborate with library stakeholders, including museum staff and volunteers, collectors, donors, funders, artists, and independent researchers to promote library services and collections.

·         Knowledge of rights and reproductions policies and legal precedents for works in public collections, including fair use, public domain, personality rights, and similar usage/copyright issues to ensure images legal and appropriate use.

·         Strong leadership, personnel management and fiscal stewardship skills.

·         Demonstrated experience in working with and managing contemporary library collection, archive and digital asset management systems.

·         Awareness of current issues and trends in library and information science relevant to art libraries, special collections, and archives, including emerging technologies and scholarly communication.

·         Respect and exemplify the values of the Corning Museum of Glass in all interactions with colleagues, staff, volunteers, and the public.

·         Experience and ability to work with foreign languages preferable.

·         Ability to travel as needed.

 

To Apply:

Email, fax, or mail resume with cover letter to [log in to unmask], fax to (607) 438-5410, or send to Corning Museum of Glass, One Museum Way, Corning, NY 14830,

Attn: Human Resources.

An Equal Opportunity Employer.