Description: The Head of Conservation is a core member of the Ohio State University Libraries' collection stewardship team and leads a dynamic, well-established conservation program. In close partnership with colleagues across the organization, the Head of Conservation is responsible for physical treatment, collections care, and preventive conservation of circulating and non-circulating collections in a range of formats, chiefly books and works on paper.
At the heart of one of the largest and most comprehensive universities in the country, the Ohio State University Libraries aspires to be the leading research library advancing the education, research, and engagement missions of a national flagship public university. Our collections, initiatives, partnerships, and services reflect the breadth and depth of stakeholders and our ambition. The Libraries' collections include a variety of distinct special collections and archives and extensive general collections that are widely circulated throughout the OhioLINK statewide consortium, the Big Ten Academic Alliance, and well beyond. The Libraries has a number of renovated, well-managed facilities for safe and secure storage, processing, and display of collections, including Thompson Library, the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum, and two off-site, high-density storage facilities. Reporting to and working closely with the Head of Preservation & Reformatting, the Head of Conservation is a key strategic and operational leader. The successful candidate will lead a team of talented and enthusiastic staff, students, and volunteers in a well-equipped and well-appointed Conservation Lab located in the Libraries Tech Center. They will communicate, coordinate, and collaborate extensively throughout the organization to plan, implement, streamline, manage, and document sustainable workflows for responsibly stewarding OSUL's research collections at all stages of their life-cycle. In consultation with curators, collections managers, catalogers, and other colleagues, the Head of Conservation will perform and oversee a full range of conservation treatments, stabilizations, and housings, with an emphasis on books and paper. The successful candidate will substantially contribute to the Libraries' emergency planning, preparedness, response, and recovery efforts. They will interface regularly with the Libraries' maturing digital reformatting and exhibitions programs, and liaise with external vendors, facilities and operations colleagues, and others on the logistics of internal and external collection handling and transport. The Head of Conservation leverages their involvement in local, regional, national, and international forums to advance the Libraries strategic goals. The Head of Conservation serves as a resource for the OSU, Columbus, and Ohio community regarding the appropriate care, handling and treatment of collections, engaging in a variety of in-reach, outreach, training, consultation and other educational activities. Required qualifications: A graduate-level degree in conservation, or an equivalent combination of education and experience leading to knowledge of the principles, procedures, techniques and ethics of cultural heritage conservation; five years of experience in conservation providing demonstrated experience in: identifying the causes of damage, triaging materials and selecting appropriate treatments, carrying out a wide range of conservation treatments, and developing and managing multiple workflows; ability to work effectively and creatively in a collaborative and complex environment; demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Desired qualifications: Experience working with both circulating and non-circulating library collections; professional experience in an academic library setting; demonstrated experience assessing existing workflows and implementing process improvements; two years of experience managing, training, and delegating work to staff, students and/or volunteers with varying levels of conservation knowledge and skill; active involvement in professional organizations focused on the preservation and conservation of library collections, such as the American Institute for Conservation, the American Library Association, the Society of American Archivists and others. Please apply online at http://www.jobsatosu.com/postings/82534 through November 26, 2017. ****** Unsubscribe by sending a message to [email protected] Searchable archives: http://cool.conservation-us.org/byform/mailing-lists/cdl/
