Librarian (Preservation Specialist)
What you'd do
The Library of Congress shares its vast collections of books, manuscripts, photographs, maps, audiovisual materials, and priceless artifacts to cultivate curiosity and spark imagination. We engage, inspire, and inform Congress and the American people with a universal and enduring source of knowledge and creativity. We seek highly talented professionals to join a vibrant and collaborative community. Your work here will have lasting impact on the Library and its users well into the future.
Major duties
The Preservation Specialist position is located in the Conservation Division in the Preservation Directorate. The Directorate is responsible for the long-term, uninterrupted access to the Library's collections through a variety of preservation programs. The Conservation Division accomplishes the preservation of the Library's collections, ranging from the general research collections to the rare, valuable, and special format collections, through a variety of activities. Incumbents in this position are specialists with a broad understanding of the diverse challenges that affect the Library's tangible collections and are engaged in a broad spectrum of activities that mitigate these risks. The Preservation Specialist ensures the longevity and usefulness of the Library's collections, their physical characteristics, the values they represent, and the information they contain. Performs and develops services that enable Library collections to be used safely for exhibition, digitization, research use, transportation, or permanent storage. Coordinates emergency response activities in a time-sensitive manner. The Preservation Specialist duties have their foundation in the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) Essential Competencies for Conservation, Preservation, and Scientific Analysis. The Foundational Competencies as well as the Practice Competencies for Preservation apply to all Preservation Specialist grade level position descriptions. In general, Preservation Specialists are highly trained professionals who perform critical work in the Library's charge to preserve and safely make accessible its extensive and often unique holdings. The Preservation Specialist plans and executes work based on expert knowledge, skills, and requisite training and experience. The Preservation Specialist uses an extensive understanding of the importance of respecting the integrity of the collection item to be treated, cultural context, pertinent legal and ethical issues, and solicited input from stakeholders to employ and develop preservation strategies to avoid, block, manage, or mitigate damage caused by the agents of deterioration through a comprehensive knowledge of preservation tools, techniques, instruments, supplies, protocols, and best practices and a comprehensive understanding of agents of deterioration that threaten collections. This position requires access and use of high value and top tier collections to perform the work of the position and therefore requires a Public Trust background investigation at the Moderate risk level. This level of position is considered the most senior of all non-supervisory Preservation Specialist positions. The incumbent is expected to operate successfully in situations that require the highest level of independence, self-direction, and capability of addressing the most complex and/or unique challenges through research and innovation, regularly leading teams in that effort. At this level, the Preservation Specialist: As the Librarian (Preservation Specialist), you will: Lead efforts to engage with custodial divisions or other programmatic units and stakeholders to determine short-term and long-term needs to pursue preservation strategies and coordinate teams to provide services, and/or procure products for specific time-bound projects. Collect and process technical data and/or information involving Library-wide conservation and preservation programs such as collections conservation, preparation for digitization, environmental monitoring, collections emergency response, exhibition preparation, or others to support as part of coordinating preservation program workflows. Coordinate the work associated with these programs that is performed by multiple staff members and/or contractors. Determine the scope of work required, establish schedules to ensure successful completion, ensure workload is effectively distributed, and consistently track and report on progress to management. Prepare, facilitate or conduct training. Preparation includes the development of training plans, manuals, web pages, or aids for the instruction of staff, contractors, interns, or other conservation or library. This training may involve novel techniques and approaches within the field. Advise on conservation and preservation projects to scholarly and professional groups, outside cultural institutions including libraries, other government agencies, and private foundations. Performs various other duties as assigned. The position description number for this position is 454933. The salary range indicated reflects the locality pay adjustments for the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan area. The incumbent of this position will work a Compflex; or Flexitime; Maxiflex work schedule. This is a non-supervisory, bargaining unit position. Relocation expenses will not be authorized for the person(s) selected under this vacancy announcement.
What you need to qualify
Applicants must have had progressively responsible experience and training sufficient in scope and quality to furnish them with an acceptable level of the following knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the position without more than normal supervision. Ability to analyze, organize, plan, and carry out conservation/preservation programs in a library or similar institution. ** Ability to provide consultation or liaison duties. ** Knowledge of the principles, concepts, and techniques of conservation/preservation. Ability to communicate in writing. Ability to provide training. Ability to communicate effectively other than in writing.
Before you apply
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