Gepubliceerd op 22-02-2018

Special Collections Curator (1.0 FTE)

Organisation

The University of Groningen is an internationally oriented university that ranks among the top European universities. Researchers and lecturers across a wide range of disciplines are passionate about their work and are granted the opportunity to fulfil their potential. The University strives to reward the talents, ambitions and achievements of its 30,000 students and 5,500 staff members.The University of Groningen Library (UB) offers a service portfolio ranging from access to electronic and paper collections, research support, and education support. We offer our services in close cooperation with the University’s teaching and research staff.The UB special collections are an expression of four hundred years of science and collection at the University of Groningen; they represent an invaluable scientific, societal, cultural-historical, and economic value.

Job description
You are responsible for the special UB collections. In that capacity, you play a pivotal role in achieving the heritage agenda: better accessibility and more intensive use of the special collections within the university’s education and research; digitization is key in this respect. Additionally, you contribute to policy proposals on the digital and physical presentation of the UB special collections.

The position is accommodated within the Special Collections Department.

In this job, you are responsible for:

the ownership of special collections projects
the promotion of the differentiated and innovative use of physical and digital-born collections by researchers, students, and the general public
the increase of digital accessibility of the collections (visibility, accessibility, and indexation)
the composition and extension, curation and preservation of physical and digital-born collections among which the launching, evaluation and monitoring of (digital) conservation and restauration proposals
publications about manuscripts, printed texts, book history, and developments in the area of special collections in professional journals, and
cooperation with faculties and partner institutes at a local, national, and international level.

Qualifications

You have:

an academic degree, preferably a PhD degree
the ability to play a pivotal role in the promotion of the special collections, both within and outside the University
excellent communication and consultancy skills
knowledge of the digitization and physical publication of special collections
experience with conservation and preservation of special collections
good fluency in English and Dutch, both oral and written (or the willingness to improve Dutch)
affinity with topics such as book science, cartography, heritage studies, digital humanities and archive and library science
a broad network in (national and international) academia and in cultural circles
preferably scholarly knowledge and skills in areas relevant for special collections
preferably knowledge of bibliographical indexing methods and systems for special collections
preferably comprehension of Latin.

Required competences: enterpreneurship, flexibility, result orientation, commitment to the client, and environment orientation.

Conditions of employment

The University of Groningen offers a salary ranging from a minimum of € 3,475 up to a maximum of € 4,757 for a full-time position, depending on experience (Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, scale 11). The initial appointment will be for two years with a prospect of permanent appointment after a positive evaluation at 18 months. This job has been classified according to the Job Classification System for Dutch universities (UFO). The UFO profile of this position is Scientific Information Specialist 1.Commencement of employment: as soon as possibleJob interviews: 12 – 14 March 2018.Application
You may apply for this position until 28 February 23:59h / before 1 March 2018 Dutch local time by means of the application form (click on “Apply” below on the advertisement on the university website). Please submit your CV, contact details of two referees and cover letter with the motivation of your application.

Unsolicited marketing is not appreciated.

Information
For information you can contact:

Dr Rienk Withaar, Head of Special Collections (for further enquiries on this vacancy), +31 6 38253299, r.g.withaar@rug.nl

(please do not use for applications)

Vacancy webpage by University of Groningen and online applications