Public Service and Instruction Librarian
Established
in 1900, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is the largest cultural institution
in the southwest and ranks nationally among the top 10 art museums
in exhibition space, memberships, endowments, and attendance. The Museum is a multifaceted institution comprising two gallery
buildings, a sculpture garden, two art schools, and two house museums for
decorative arts. Resources that can be found throughout the institution
include a repertory cinema, two significant research libraries, public
archives, two digital archive initiatives, and a conservation and storage
facility. The encyclopedic collection numbers nearly 70,000 works of art.
Hirsch Library
The Hirsch Library is the largest library dedicated to
the visual arts in the south central United States. Since the late 1920s, the
Library has maintained a strong commitment to serving the Houston arts
community, opening its doors to more than 5,000 patrons annually. Our
collection of more than 175,000 volumes reflects the encyclopedic nature of the
Museum’s holdings with particular strength in the areas of Modern and
contemporary art, photography, decorative arts and design, European painting,
prints and drawings, Latin American art, and American art.
Position
The
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s Hirsch Library seeks a creative, committed, and
passionate information professional to oversee our reference, research,
instruction, and interlibrary loan initiatives.
This
position reports to the Chief of the Library and Archives.
Responsibilities
The primary
role of the Public Service and Instruction Librarian is to oversee the reference
and research services to Museum staff and external researchers. This individual
is also responsible for directing the Library’s instruction program.
Additionally, this position manages the Library’s interlibrary lending service,
liaising with libraries and scholars to provide access to the Hirsch Library’s
extensive collection of resources. The role requires a strong commitment to
public service coupled with a vision for using emerging technologies, as well
as a high degree of knowledge pertaining to print and electronic resources in
art history and the humanities.
Primary duties:
- In conjunction with the Chief of the
Library and Archives, determines and executes public service policies and
priorities; develops strategies for the provision of services
- Oversees the Library’s interlibrary lending
service and trains staff members on interlibrary services procedures
- Supervises the Library Assistant for
Reference position
- Trains and schedules the information
services staff
- Develops classes, workshops, and training
materials for Museum staff, docents, and volunteers on library research methods
- Collaborates with staff in the Learning &
Interpretation department to ensure that all docents receive regular library
instruction
- Trains fellow team members on class content
creation, instruction, and public speaking
- Provides reference service at the
information services desk on a regularly scheduled basis
- Provides research services to museum staff on demand outside
of regularly scheduled periods
- Reports regularly to the Library Committee at committee
meetings
- Assists with other projects as necessary
Skills, Knowledge and Abilities
- Broad knowledge of scholarly resources in art
history and the humanities including print and online reference resources
- Excellent communication skills and the
ability to provide high quality reference services and to make presentations to
a broad range of researchers from novice to advanced
- Strong interpersonal skills, with the ability
to establish positive and productive collaborations with library colleagues and
Museum staff required
- Ability to plan, manage and oversee multiple
projects, meet deadlines and prioritize work in alignment with the strategic
goals of the library required
- Ability to adapt to changing organizational
priorities and to ever-changing technological environments required
- Strong sense of the future directions of
research libraries and able to articulate this in meaningful ways to
colleagues, Museum staff, and outside researchers
- Knowledge of current trends and best
practices in research/reference services required
- Knowledge of digital projects in art history
and the humanities and their relevance for the library researchers
- Familiarity with new and emerging models of
scholarly communication preferred
- Knowledge of one foreign language: Spanish,
French, German, or Italian preferred
- Ability to carry heavy books and climb ladders
Education and Experience
- ALA-accredited master’s degree in library or
information sciences required; M.A. in Art History or significant experience
working in the humanities preferred
- Minimum of three years of instruction and
reference experience in research or academic library required
- Experience or capacity for developing
creative and entrepreneurial approaches to promoting and delivering reference,
instruction and outreach services
- Some supervisory experience
preferred
- Experience working with interlibrary loan
software; WorldShare Interlibrary Loan service preferred
- Experience working with an integrated library
system; WorldShare Management Services preferred
How to
Apply:
Send resume and cover letter to Human Resources, Job
19-152LIB, email: jobs@mfah.org
or visit our website https://www.mfah.org/about/careers/
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is an equal
opportunity employer dedicated to a policy of nondiscrimination in employment
without regard to race, creed, color, age, gender, gender identity, sexual
orientation, religion, national origin, genetic information, disability, or
protected veteran status.
