Library Director Job at Field Museum in Chicago

Our Mission: Since the 1893 World Columbian Exposition, our organization has aimed to connect people to the natural environment and human history.

Join our team and enjoy a benefits package that truly supports your well-being and lifestyle:

• Comprehensive Health Coverage: Including medical, dental, vision plans, and even pet insurance.
• Financial Security: Life and disability benefits plus a 403(b) savings plan to help you plan for the future.
• Work-Life Balance: Generous paid time off, paid sick leave, and paid holidays to ensure you have time to recharge and spend with loved ones.
• Exclusive Perks: Enjoy great employee discounts and complimentary general admission to participating cultural institutions.

We're dedicated to enhancing your life both at work and beyond!

Position Overview:

The Library Director oversees the Marie Louise Rosenthal Library at the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. This individual manages all aspects of care and management for the Library, including Archives, Photo Archives, and Rare Book and General Library, and supports researchers in natural and cultural history. The Museum seeks an individual with innovative ideas for museum libraries and a proven record of building intra- and inter-organizational relationships. This position reports to the Vice President of Collections, Conservation, and Research.

About the Library:

The Field Museum Library is committed to supporting the Museum’s mission as an educational and research institution concerned with diversity and relationships in nature and among cultures. We seek to provide convenient and effective access to quality library services, research collections, and information resources to meet the scientific, professional, and creative needs of the research and educational communities. The strengths of the holdings parallel the strengths of the Museum’s scientific collections in the fields of anthropology and archaeology, botany, geology, paleontology, meteoritics, and zoology. The Library emphasizes biological systematics, evolutionary biology, geology, archaeology, ethnology, and material culture.

The Library’s holdings include more than 275,000 volumes of books and journals. Serial publications account for two-thirds of the Library’s holdings in some subject areas. The Library currently subscribes to about 275 domestic and foreign journals. The Museum’s staff has easy access to items not held in its Library through the Library’s Interlibrary Loan service.

The Library maintains several significant special collections. The Museum Archives holds nearly 1,800 linear feet of paper material and original Museum motion picture films. These materials document the Museum's expedition activities to many continents, the administrative and collections history of the Museum, and the history and practice of science. The Library’s Photo Archives comprises over 300,000 images that document the history and architecture of the Museum, its exhibitions, staff, and scientific expeditions. The Rare Book Room includes 7,500 volumes and 3,000 works of art. The core of the Rare Book Room consists of several specialized holdings in areas such as ornithology, mineralogy, gemology, natural history, travel and exploration, and the anthropology and culture of China. The Art Collection encompasses works related to scientific illustration, anthropology, and natural history.

Since 2009, the Library has been an active participant in the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL). The BHL is a consortium of natural history and botanical libraries that cooperate to digitize the legacy literature of biodiversity held in their collections and to make that literature available for open access and responsible use as a part of a global “biodiversity commons.” The BHL consortium works with the international taxonomic community, rights holders, and other interested parties to ensure that this biodiversity heritage is made available to a global audience through open-access principles. In partnership with the Internet Archive and through local digitization efforts, the BHL has digitized millions of pages of taxonomic literature, representing over 120,000 titles and over 200,000 volumes

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Direct the strategic planning and prioritization of projects, including periodic evaluations and assessments, for the Marie Louise Rosenthal Library with a special focus on digitization and digital initiatives.
• Provides leadership for developing initiatives related to the Library, ensuring that all holdings are discoverable, accessible, and effectively used in Museum-wide endeavors, research, programming, exhibition, and education initiatives.
• Oversees, coordinates, and carries out a variety of care duties for the Library, including several satellite libraries throughout the building, ensuring that best practices are followed for materials care and preservation.
• Coordinates and prioritizes Library activities, including outreach, special programs, and digitization, as related to the Museum’s strategic priorities.
• Budget planning, monitoring, and reporting for the Library.
• Responsible for working with Field Museum researchers and other staff on identifying strategic acquisitions.
• Serves as primary liaison for external partnerships, including Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL), Consortium of Academic Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI), Reaching Across Illinois Libraries (RAILS), and the International Environmental Library Consortium (IELC).
• Contributes to professional organizations at multiple levels and keeps up-to-date with trends and developments in libraries, especially natural history libraries.
• Builds and strengthens external partnerships with local, national, and global libraries.
• Represents the Library to relevant Board of Trustees committees and the Board in general.
• Assists in fundraising, including grant submissions and fulfillment, and promotion for the Library and general Museum operations.
• Provides research and reference assistance for the Library to users.
• Oversees the Museum’s interlibrary loan program and online resource subscriptions.
• Supports loans of materials for internal and external exhibitions, and assists with the development and review of exhibition and educational content as needed.
• Works with the Museum’s Center for Repatriation to fulfill obligations related to the repatriation of Library materials, especially with regard to NAGPRA.
• Oversees physical moves of the Library’s materials, equipment, and furniture as needed and works with other Museum staff to assess space needs across the institution.
• Participates in museum disaster planning and serves as the primary contact for after-hours emergencies in Library storage spaces.
• Supervises all Library staff plus volunteers and interns as needed.
• Recruits, hires, manages, and evaluates Library staff as needed.

Qualifications:

• Graduation from an accredited American Library Association program with a Master’s degree in Library Science.
• At least five years of progressively responsible professional library experience including three years of supervisory experience, preferably in a natural history and/or research library.
• Functional knowledge of LibGuides, Integrated Library System (preferably OCLC’s WorldShare Management Systems), ContentDM, and other library applications.
• Strong knowledge of library operations, current trends, and best practices for museum and/or research libraries.
• Excellent management, organizational, and communication skills, including personnel supervision, budget administration, and peer collaboration.
• Experience with special collections in all formats, including rare books, archives, and photo archives.
• Understanding of preservation issues common in specialized libraries.
• Knowledge of the rare book and manuscript trade.
• Successful fundraising experience or a desire to engage in fundraising.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work with a diverse group of colleagues, researchers, donors, and other individuals and communities.
• Demonstrated collegiality, professional contributions, and a record of collaboration.
• Commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion.
• Record of successful project oversight and decision-making.
• Excellent spoken and written communication skills.

Supervision of Others:

• Museum Archivist
• Cataloging and Metadata Librarian
• Library Technical Assistant
• Library Collections Specialist
• Photo Archivist
• Assistant Archivist
• Scanning Technician (part-time, term)

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The Field Museum is an equal-opportunity employer. We are committed to providing a workplace free from discrimination, embracing diversity, and fostering mutual respect. We value the unique perspectives each team member brings, which empowers our ability to innovate and overcome challenges.

At the Field Museum, we are dedicated to making our career website and recruitment process accessible to everyone. If you encounter any difficulty when using or accessing our online application, or if you need a reasonable accommodation for completing your application, participating in interviews, or any other part of the selection process, please reach out to us at recruitment@fieldmuseum.org.