Head Librarian, National Museum of Asian Art Library

Description

 The Smithsonian Libraries and Archives (SLA) is hiring a Head Librarian for their Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art Library (NMAA Library). 

The Head Librarian of the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art Library is responsible for the development, management, and promotion of the Library’s significant collection of materials related to Asian Art, its initiatives, and its expert research services. Success in this role will require excellent relationship-building skills, to ensure that the collections align with institutional priorities, and programmatic offerings have an impact on the Smithsonian and the diverse research communities served by SLA and NMAA. In addition, the position will directly oversee NMAA's repository of Japanese-language library holdings and collection development. 

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Formulates, develops, coordinates, and directs the NMAA Research Library programs and operations; formulates and directs long-range planning for the collection development and for improvement of library services, both for physical and digital access for Smithsonian researchers, scholars, and the public.
• Selects, interprets, and manages collections of scholarly print and electronic materials on Asian art, with particular emphasis on Japanese art. Collects materials published in the field of Asia and Asian studies primarily within arts and humanities disciplines. Conducts research on relevant Asian Art topics, in particular Japanese, to enhance the NMAA Collections.
• As a subject expert in the arts of Japan, provides expert reference services, collection development, acquisitions of materials related to this subject.
• Provides advanced reference and research service, and oversees library staff in scholarly research support, outreach and instruction. Anticipates research needs, and creates specialized trainings and online research tools, and keeps abreast of relevant resources and technology to support the work of a 21st century research library.
• Supervises NMAA library staff, interns, volunteers, and students. Establishes performance goals and duties, conducts formal and informal evaluations, assesses training needs and makes recommendations for further staff development and hiring.
• Develops budget projections for library operations and monitors annual budget spending. Manages the library's collections budget for monographs and serial acquisitions. Supervises all acquisitions by purchase and gift/exchange to ensure the comprehensiveness of the library collection.
• Develops strong relationships and works collaboratively with NMAA museum curators, Smithsonian colleagues, and affiliated researchers. Represents SLA and NMAA at attendance and participation in professional associations, seminars, and conferences, and in collaboration with internal and external partners.

Requirements

• Mastery of information and library science collections development to oversee, develop, and expand services for the NMAA Research Library.
• Mastery of information and library science research tools and research methodology of scholarly inquiry in art and/or art history to conduct extensive research to answer library users' art history reference inquires.
• Expert knowledge of Asian and/or Near-Eastern art or art history to manage NMAA's research library, which contains over eighty-six thousand volumes of Asian art, including works in Chinese, Japanese, and Near-Eastern art.
• Expert organizational and communications skill and ability to work and interact effectively with the administrations, staff, outside researchers, students, and other users, as well as national and local organizations.
• Knowledge and understanding of library operations, policies, procedures, techniques, and ability to develop and plan library programs.
• Knowledge of digital library initiatives to enhance NMAA's shared and public access to collections and research resources.
• Ability to lead and/or supervise library personnel and staff, including planning, distributing, and monitoring work assignments, evaluating work performance, and providing feedback on performance.
• Ability to prepare, justify, and/or administer a program budget to ensure cost-effective support of programs and policies.
• Knowledge of scholarly communication and publishing practices throughout East Asia and arising from East Asian Studies.
• Skill to conduct scholarly research, contribute to scholarly publications, and scholarly presentations in the field of library science, and/or Asian and Near-East Asian Art.