Director, Preservation

Description

Columbia University Libraries seeks an experienced and innovative professional with demonstrated managerial and consultative skills to join its senior leadership team.  The Director of Preservation leads Preservation Division staff, leads development of strategic vision, prioritization and assessment of system-wide Libraries’ preservation programs, and advances the development and implementation of preservation and conservation services.  The Director of Preservation sustains the Libraries’ commitment to stewardship of distinctive, extensive collections including physical materials and digital materials; extends the longevity of all media that hold information through proper environmental storage and housing, care, physical treatment, and disaster preparedness; reformats content using a variety of technologies, primarily digital conversion of appropriate parts of the collections to improve access to their content; and promotes long-term archiving of Libraries’ digital content.  The Director initiates and writes grant proposals and collaborates with other divisions to identify and plan potential projects.  The Director administers in-house and vendor projects to digitize content for access purposes as well as preservation purposes.

The Director leads 25 Preservation Division full-time staff in service of Columbia University’s mission, for Columbia affiliates and the global scholarly community.  The Director also oversees students, contract employees and multiple external vendors as required.  The Director is a member of the Libraries’ senior leadership  team and partners with other directors to plan and coordinate the Libraries’ preservation, conservation and digital conversion efforts.  The Director oversees all aspects of Preservation’s operations and advocates for preservation at Columbia and beyond.

Minimum Qualifications:

• MLS, PhD or other advanced degree in a related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience in library, museum, or research institute;
• knowledge of policies, national technical standards, procedures and other aspects of digital preservation, digital conversion and other reformatting methods for books, images, audio and video recordings, etc., and of preservation-quality storage environments,  repair and conservation, binding, handling of all library materials, disaster recovery, etc.
• formal training and/or experience in library and archives preservation/conservation;
• demonstrated commitment to building and advancing diversity and inclusion in staffing, collections, and services;
• demonstrated leadership skills and a history of progressively increased levels of management responsibility;
• demonstrated ability to influence and collaborate effectively with staff, peers, senior management, faculty and students, and colleagues at partner institutions;
• demonstrated excellence in interpersonal skills and ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing and to function effectively in a complex organization;
• demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines, and analytical and problem solving skills;

Preferred Qualifications:

• demonstrated understanding of descriptive, technical and administrative metadata and file management practices, and ability to deal with bibliographic records in a variety of languages;
• demonstrated knowledge of copyright law as it applies to preservation for libraries and as part of collaborative efforts with other institutions and vendors;
• demonstrated experience managing budgets;

For immediate consideration, please apply online at: http://pa334.peopleadmin.com/postings/3982

We encourage individuals with diverse backgrounds, experiences, identities, and abilities to apply for this unique opportunity to become a part of our evolving Libraries and University community. Columbia University Libraries is a globally-recognized academic research library system, serving one of the world’s most important centers of research and learning in the most exciting and dynamic city in the world. Talented Libraries staff build, sustain, and make discoverable collections that transcend traditional boundaries of format and domain, keeping pace with a dynamic and rapidly evolving information environment and creating opportunities for users to encounter 4,000 years of human thought.

Our decisions are informed by new curricula developed to meet the needs of a more diverse student body, new and emerging areas of research being conducted by a broad spectrum of researchers, including graduate students and newly-hired faculty, as well as by perspectives from the diminished or entirely lost voices of historically oppressed, marginalized, and underserved populations and communities. As an organization, the Libraries provides a supportive, connected environment where every employee’s perspective is valued and every employee is encouraged to grow. All staff members have an impact on Columbia’s mission to advance knowledge at the highest levels and make the results of research accessible to the world.

Columbia University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and strongly encourages individuals of all backgrounds and cultures to consider this position.