Swarthmore College

Curator, Peace Collection
Job no: 495252
Work type: Full Time
Location: Swarthmore
Categories: Staff, Salary (Exempt)

Swarthmore College is a highly selective liberal arts college located in the suburbs of Philadelphia, whose mission combines academic rigor with social responsibility. Swarthmore has a strong institutional commitment to inclusive excellence and nondiscrimination in its educational program and employment practices and encourages candidates who will further advance the goal of fostering a diverse and inclusive community. As one of the nation’s finest institutions of higher learning, Swarthmore College is global in outlook and draws students from around the nation and world. The 425‐acre campus is a designated arboretum, complete with gardens, rolling lawns, a creek, wooded hills, and hiking trails in the Crum Woods.

Who We Are:

The Swarthmore College Peace Collection is the most extensive research library and archives in the United States focusing solely on movements for peace around the world. The Peace Collection is an internationally known special library and archives documenting non-governmental efforts for nonviolent social change with a focus on women’s contributions to these movements.

The opportunity:

Swarthmore College seeks an experienced archivist and manager to shape the future of the Peace Collection. The Curator is a long-standing and endowed role which provides leadership for the Peace Collection in collection stewardship, donor relations, collection development, researcher services, and outreach. The successful candidate should bring enthusiasm and creativity to the challenges of managing a large collection of approximately 15,000 linear feet of manuscripts, photographs, posters, audiovisual items, and ephemera, including approximately 25% stored off-site; as well as books, periodicals, and digital assets. This position presents a unique opportunity for a candidate with vision to build a staffing team and to create new, forward-thinking practices, policies and procedures. 

The Curator of the Peace Collection reports directly to the Director of Libraries & College Librarian, and is part of the leadership team for Special Collections, which also includes the Friends Historical Library, College Archives, and Rare Book Room. The Curator collaborates with Special Collections colleagues to set common policies and practices and to determine the overall direction and future leadership for Special Collections. The Curator also works with colleagues library-wide on areas of mutual interest including space and facilities planning, and with faculty in Swarthmore’s Department of Peace & Conflict Studies.

Essential Responsibilities

Collection stewardship

Sets priorities for the direction of the Peace Collection, and works collaboratively with Peace Collection staff to develop projects to enhance intellectual and physical control over the Peace Collection’s holdings.
Oversees the development and enhancement of workflows, policies, and systems to support standards-aligned documentation of, and intra-staff communication about, the practices of the Peace Collection.
Leads and collaborates with colleagues to develop and implement projects and practices to support the Peace Collection’s collection stewardship work, including conservation and preservation, metadata enhancement, on and off-site storage management, materials tracking, acquisition and appraisal, collection assessments, and other services, projects, and practices.
Develops and leads projects designed to enhance access to materials documenting under-represented and marginalized communities (including BIPOC, queer and trans people, immigrants and refugees, and artists) within the Peace Collection, and oversees reparative description initiatives. 
Collection development

Revises and implements the collecting mission of the Peace Collection.
Pursues and acquires new primary resources that will enhance the collection and maintain the historic record on non-governmental efforts towards peace worldwide, with special focus on the contributions of women to peace movements, as capacity permits. 
Oversees the entrance of all new materials to SCPC, including by gift or purchase.  Develops relationships with donors, potential donors, and vendors of material of relevance.
Develops projects designed to diversify the holdings of the Peace Collection, as capacity allows.
Reference, Access, Instruction, and Outreach

Develops and enhances systems to support effective researcher services policies and practices, and oversees their implementation by the entire Peace Collection staff.
Works collaboratively with colleagues across the Special Collections and the College to build and lead a sustainable and inclusive program of archival instruction for the Peace Collection; leads instruction sessions using SCPC resources.
Encourages and facilitates student and faculty use of the Collection for research and instruction.
Represents the SCPC and Swarthmore College as an expert on peace history and related topics. 
Financial, administrative, and personnel management 

Manages Peace Collection budgets, spending, and funds.
Works with the College’s Advancement office and College Librarian to support the work of Peace Collection through grants and foundations, as capacity permits.
Supports and coaches Peace Collection staff
Research and Professional Development

Engages actively in the professions of librarianship and/or archives management, as well as Peace studies and/or related subjects. 
Maintains currency with archival standards, best practices, and appropriate technologies.
Supervisory Responsibilities

Retains overall responsibility for a unit of approximately three (3) full-time professional staff and an average of 2 student workers per term.
What you bring:

Required Qualifications

ALA accredited MLS with specialization in archives and/or rare materials or ACA Certified Archivist. Equivalent combination of advanced subject degree and library/archives experience may be considered.
Established expertise in peace history or related field, and/or connections to peace activist communities.
5 + years’ experience working in special collections with evidence of increasing responsibility, leadership, and personnel supervision. Expert knowledge of archival collection management, public services, and preservation practices and tools.
Strong evidence of working with students, faculty, and other scholars through instruction, research support, and outreach.
Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
A record of professional and scholarly accomplishment, with a demonstrated commitment to professional development.
Facility with a complex library/archive management system, such as ArchivesSpace, Alma, or Islandora.
Knowledge of the landscape of challenges for managing digital assets and born-digital archival materials.
Preferred Qualifications

Successful grant development experience.
Evidence of successful stewardship of donors.
Subject masters or PhD in history, peace studies, human rights, or other area related to social justice
Supervision of staff, especially professional staff
What You Will Get:

You’ll work at one of the world's most renowned liberal arts Colleges, with incredible benefits, a stunning 420-acre campus, and a collaborative work environment. Join a team of passionate, creative people who work hard and have fun supporting the College students, faculty, and staff.

We want to hear from you if you are excited about this role! For full consideration, submit applications with pay expectations, including a resume and cover letter.

Review the Swarthmore Benefits Guidebook. We offer benefit plans starting at zero cost! Upon benefit eligibility, the College contributes 10% of an employee’s salary to their retirement account. Employees are 100% vested in their accounts on the date participation begins.

https://careers.swarthmore.edu/en-us/job/495252/curator-peace-collection