Curator for Rare Books and Manuscripts

Curator for Rare Books and Manuscripts

Reporting to the Director of Scholar Engagement, the Curator for Rare Books and Manuscripts is responsible for the ethical andresponsible development and management of the Rare Book and Manuscript collections held by ASU Library. Dedicated to a highlevel of service, they work effectively with faculty members,colleagues, students, and other partners to achieve goals andimprove the quality of education and research at Arizona State University. The incumbent demonstrates a strong commitment to the Charter of ASU in providing high quality service in an inclusivecampus and researcher community.

The Special Collections directorate recently underwent arestructuring, resulting in the creation of a Scholar Engagementdepartment. While subject expertise and collection managementduties reside in each department, the placement of the Rare Booksand Manuscripts curator in the scholar department signals theconsistent interest of faculty to incorporate these materials intheir instruction. Our strengths in artist books, early modernprint, performing arts, science fiction, and Asian materials makeus a popular destination for faculty and scholars. The idealcandidate will work across the directorate to develop tools andstrategies to support scholars and faculty, at a scope and scalethat parallels the growth of Arizona State University.

Essential Functions:

Collection Management

• Gaining a strong knowledge of the current holdings of our rarebooks and manuscript materials and an ability to makerecommendations about description, condition, digitization,stewardship, and appraisal
• Maintaining a high-level working knowledge of national andinternational theory and practice pertaining to professionalstandards for rare books, manuscripts, and other specializedlibrary collections
• Collaboratively assisting with and facilitating specialcollections workflows and processes when needed, including thoserelated to acquisition, physical control, metadata, preservation,and shelving

Collection Development

• Articulating a clear collection development plan for thesematerials
• Participating in the collaborative development of rare booksand manuscripts collection policies and procedures pertaining toselection, description, access, and security
• Managing new acquisitions, incoming donations, and donationrequests, making recommendations and facilitating collectiondevelopment in accordance with broader library collecting goals,policies, and budgets
• Assisting with donor correspondence and the cultivation ofdonor relationships

• Promoting scholarly and community engagement with the Universitys collection of rare books and manuscripts

Reference Support

• Providing prompt and efficient research and reference services,including Wurzburger reading room service provision and addressingusers through Ask-An-Archivist tickets
• Maintaining an acute awareness and ability to model the safeand secure handling of rare books and manuscript materials, andmaintaining a strong understanding of current preservation andcollection management practices relating to specialcollections

Outreach and Instruction

• Engaging in outreach to ASU faculty, students, visitingresearchers, and others to promote awareness and use of Special Collections resources, services, programs, and initiatives
• Providing instruction sessions and educational information tostudents, scholars, faculty, and visitors
• Interpreting and promoting special collections for AS Usinclusive online and residential user communities

Service to the Library and Broader Community

• Participating in service to the Library and the University
• May have supervisory responsibilities for students, staff,and/or interns; and other assigned duties

Required Qualifications:

• MLS/MLIS/MA from an ALA-accredited institution or an advanceddegree in a relevant field confirmed by the start ofemployment
• Knowledge of rare books, special collections, or archivalmaterials

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working in academic or research library orarchives
• Experience with curation, collection development (working withcollection dealers), or collection management
• Experience providing special collections or archival materialsinstruction
• Experience providing research consultations or referenceservices in-person and/or virtually
• Reading knowledge of one or more languages other than English
• Experience supervising students, interns, or staff
• Cultural fluency skills to engage and support researchers ofvaried backgrounds and cultures
• Experience writing successful grants

Salary and Rank: This is a continuingappointment track Academic Professional position;Assistant/Associate Archivist rank and salary dependent onexperience. Early career professionals are encouraged to apply.

Application Procedures: This is a paperless search; onlyelectronic materials will be accepted. To apply, please submitelectronically to https://apply.interfolio.com/184605 thefollowing: A cover letter, comprehensive vita or resume,and names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses of 3 recentprofessional references. No paper applications, faxesor emails will be accepted.

The applicants last name should appear in each uploaded filename. Questions about the position should be directed to the searchcommittee chair at: Joyce.Martin@asu.edu.Application deadline is June 10, 2026. Applications will continueto be accepted on a rolling basis for a reserve pool. Applicationsin the reserve pool may then be reviewed in the order in which theywere received until the position is filled.

Other Information: Hiring is contingent uponeligibility to work in the United States. For more informationregarding ASU, visitour website: www.asu.edu. For more information aboutthe Phoenix metropolitan area, please visitwww.visitarizona.com.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement: Abackground check is required for employment. All qualifiedapplicants will receive consideration for employment without regardto race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability,protected veteran status, or any other basis protected by law.

(See https://www.asu.edu/aad/manuals/acd/acd401.htmland https://www.asu.edu/title IX/.)

In compliance with federal law, ASU prepares an annual report oncampus security and fire safety programs and resources.  ASU s Annual Security and Fire Safety Report is available online athttps://www.asu.edu/police/PDFs/ASU-Clery-Report.pdf You may request a hard copy of the report by contacting the ASU Police Department at 480-965-3456.

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