VICE PRESIDENT FOR SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

The Linda Hall Library for , & Technology seeks nominees or confidential expressions of interest in the position of Vice President for Special Collections. Reporting to the President of the Library, the Vice President will be responsible for oversight of the Library’s Special and General Collections, developing and promoting them in ways that will shape and enhance the Library’s reputation as a national and international destination for advanced research in the history of science, science and engineering studies, Cold War history, the history of the book and printing technologies, and related fields.

A member of the Independent Research Libraries Association (IRLA), Linda Hall’s collections include over half a million volumes, more than 48,000 journal titles, conference proceedings, reference works, government publications, and technical reports, as well as 200,000 industrial standards and engineering society conference papers. The Library’s History of Science Collection, containing printed books from the fifteenth century to the present, is particularly strong in cosmology, geology, biology, and mathematics. More than 40,000 titles are currently represented, including a complete set of Transactions of the Royal Society of London and important volumes by Copernicus, Galileo, , , and Charles Darwin.

The core the of the Library’s holdings are derived from a series of major acquisitions, starting with the purchase of the 62,358-item collection of the American Academy of Arts and in 1946. A second significant acquisition occurred in 1985 when the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia transferred nearly six hundred serial titles to the Linda Hall Library, increasing or completing runs of serials titles, and adding new titles. In 1995, the United Engineering Foundation, the successor organization to the United Engineering Society, founded in 1904 with the support of Andrew Carnegie, similarly transferred the Engineering Societies Library (ESL). The ESL collection added depth to both the journal and monograph collections, especially with material published before 1950 along with a significant number of historic publications devoted to the histories of electricity, magnetism, mathematics, and minerology.

In 2009, the Linda Hall Library made the decision to remain a print-based library and to position itself as the library of record for the printed materials in appropriate subject areas. Since that time, the Library has, selectively, accepted collections and portions of print collections that have been shed by other research libraries that have turned their backs on print. These donations have extended and/or completed runs of important journals and have contributed scarce to our holdings.

Because it has assumed the responsibility of being the print library of record as stated above, the Linda Hall Library has formed a partnership with the Center for Research Libraries (CRL) to preserve and develop historical research collections comprised of 50,000 journal titles available electronically through on-demand digitization and traditional document delivery for the more than 200 CRL-member research libraries.

The Linda Hall Library is on solid financial footing, with an endowment of $211,000,000 and a Fiscal Year 2018 operating budget of $9,558,200. Nearly $4 million of the annual budget is spent on collections. The facilities are in good repair, growing to their current size upon completion of an expansion in 2006. The buildings now comprise 220,000 square feet of library space and include over thirty-two miles of shelving. The addition also includes a cosmology “mini-theater” where images and view of the cosmos from the and NASA science missions are delivered daily.

THE POSITION

The Vice President for Special Collections will have oversight of the Library’s collecting policies as they pertain to the Library’s Special and General Collections. Additionally, the Vice President will have an opportunity to establish and build a collection of manuscripts and archives that will support advanced research in subjects represented by the Library’s collecting strengths. She or he will be expected to promote the research and pedagogical uses of the Library’s collections and build collegial and scholarly networks of individuals who may take a research interest in the Library’s current and future collections.

The Vice President will collaborate with the President and other senior staff in advancing and implementing the Library’s strategic plan, with the primary goal of strengthening Linda Hall’s stature as a national and international destination for scholarship in science, engineering, technology, their histories, as well as the histories of books and printing technologies, and related and emerging areas of scholarly inquiry. Among his or her responsibilities, the Vice President will be asked to:

1. Maintain oversight of the Library’s collecting policies and their implementation. 2. Maintain curatorial responsibilities for the History of Science rare book collection, including the selection of significant items reflecting current and developing research needs; identify potential new areas of collecting opportunity. 3. Establish and develop a collection of manuscripts and archives that will support advanced research in subjects represented by the Library’s collecting strengths. 4. Promote the research and pedagogical uses of the collections. 5. Supervise the work of the Science Bibliographer (who will have immediate responsibility or developing the General Collection), and the Assistant Librarian for the History of Science. 6. Budgetary responsibility for the Special and General Collections. 7. Collaborate with other Library units including, but not limited to, Technical Services, Digital Initiatives, Preservation, and Public Services to ensure the ongoing discoverability, use, and preservation of the Library’s collections. 8. Identify appropriate technological applications that can serve and support research activities within the Library and around the world. 9. Participation on the Library’s Exhibitions Committee. 10. Promote the President’s vision for and implementation of Library-wide initiatives and encourage cross-team collaboration. 11. Attract prominent as well as rising scholars to the Library’s holdings.

COMPETENCIES The Vice President for Special Collections will possess the competencies for special collections professionals as adopted by the Association of College and Research Libraries in 2008 and updated in 2016 as noted: Fundamental Competencies 1. Knowledge of analytical and descriptive bibliography, the history of the book including familiarity with the concepts of editions and variants, and book construction sufficient to ensure that materials are appropriately organized and described. Knowledge of reference and bibliographical sources. 2. Understand the concepts of provenance, rarity, scarcity, age, physical and intrinsic characteristics; condition, market value, historical and cultural significance, and research value. 3. Knowledge of the appraisal, valuation, and insurance processes for rare books. 4. Knowledge of standards, rules, best practices, and tools used for organizing and describing rare books in library catalogs, databases, and web sites. 5. Familiarity with library, archival, and museum preservation and conservation issues, standards, trends, and best practices regarding proper handling, storage, and security of collections.

SPECIALIZED COMPETENCIES

1. Understands the subjects contained within the Linda Hall Library’s rare book collection; ability to assist researchers in the use of the collection. 2. Understands the theory and practice of collection development and assessment with respect to rare book collections, and general-use research collections. 3. Understands acquisition methodologies and fund management as applied to the development of rare book collections, knowledge of the antiquarian book trade and non-traditional sources of acquisition. 4. Understands pertinent disciplinary and interdisciplinary research methodologies and the research process. 5. Reading proficiency in two languages in addition to English (e.g., German, French, Spanish, Latin, Italian, or Russian).

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE 1. A graduate degree in Library and/or Information Science, or equivalent from an American Library Association accredited institution. Advanced degree in a field related to one or more subjects reflected in the Linda Hall Library’s collections is strongly preferred. 2. Supervisory experience over a professional staff.

ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS 1. Strong interpersonal and presentation skills with the ability to present clear and accurate information to diverse constituencies. 2. Must be able to communicate effectively in writing. 3. The ability to think collaboratively, strategically, and creatively while participating in senior-level decision-making. 4. Demonstrated commitment to professional growth within the field. Active participation in appropriate professional associations is required. THE CITY The population of the greater metropolitan area of Kansas City is 4.3 million. A Federal Reserve seat, the city has a healthy economy. Its landscape includes wide boulevards, parks, impressive architecture, and more than two hundred public fountains. Kansas City has a vibrant arts scene, superb shopping, and great blues and jazz clubs. Cultural offerings include more than a dozen legitimate theaters, a resident symphony, ballet company, and opera. The city is also home to two nationally renowned art museums – the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art – as well as the American Jazz Museum and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. The popular National World War I Museum is the nation’s only museum dedicated to sharing the stories of the Great War through the eyes of those who lived it. The Harry S. Truman Library and Museum is located just ten miles away in Independence, . The city is home for three professional sports franchises: the KC Royals, the KC Chiefs, and MLS’s Sporting Kansas City.

Please direct all expressions of interest to: Donna Friedrich ExecuQuest [email protected] 1.410.667.8400

Linda Hall Library is an “Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V.”