SYSTEMS AND TECHNICAL SERVICES LIBRARIAN - Lucas Museum of Narrative Art

ABOUT THE LUCAS MUSEUM OF NARRATIVE ART

As the first museum to focus exclusively on storytelling through images, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art believes that visual storytelling can connect us and help shape a more just society. With a growing collection that encompasses artworks from across cultures, places, times, and mediums, including paintings, sculptures, murals, photography, comic art, book and magazine illustrations, and the arts of filmmaking, the Lucas Museum will explore narrative arts potential to prompt questions, invite opinions, inspire community, and move people to think about the impact of images on our world.

Co-founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson and led by director and CEO Sandra Jackson-Dumont, the Lucas Museum was designed by renowned architect Ma Yansong of MAD Architects with Stantec as executive architect and is under construction in Los Angeless Exposition Park. An 11-acre campus with extensive new green space designed by Studio-MLA will embrace the museums 300,000-square-foot building, which will feature expansive galleries, two state-of-the-art theaters, and dedicated spaces for learning and engagement, dining, retail, and events. www.lucasmuseum.org.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art seeks a proactive and efficient Systems and Technical Services Librarian to contribute to the selection, implementation, and management of an Integrated Library Systems and Archival Collection Management System. Additionally, the Librarian will be a key member of the digitization team, focusing on library and special collections to support access, preservation, and the mission of the museum.

Reporting to the Director of Library, the Systems Librarian will contribute to cataloging and creating metadata for a wide range of materials from reference to comic books, artists papers, pamphlets and other ephemera. They will help to shape the operational systems for the museums library and special collections, which will serve as a source of inspiration, new scholarship, creative research and production, and inquiry into narrative art and its makers. In keeping with the museums strategic emphases of operational excellence, the Systems and Technical Services Librarian will work across Museum and will also work closely with the divisions of Curatorial and Collections, as well as Technology, in order to ensure that the library systems are rooted in best practices and integrated when possible, with other digital and collections management systems in the museum.

As a member of the Learning and Engagement division, it is crucial that the Librarian have a deep commitment to making library resources accessible to, and discoverable by, a diverse public. They will also work to develop and carry out trainings for internal staff and interns in library systems and onboard project staff contributing to digitization.

All staff at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art lead through a deep commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion both within the Museum and with the communities we serve.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Guides the selection, oversees the implementation, and provides ongoing management of Integrated Library, Archival Collections Management Systems, and public web-based library interfaces as needed
• Serve as the primary liaison to software vendors for library, archival, and patron registration systems
• Contribute to the assessment, cataloguing, and creation of bibliographic records and metadata
• Contribute to creating research guides, finding aids, and other strategies that ensure the accessibility of library resources, including the integration of the museums systems with that of other institutions, consortia, and/or online repositories
• Works with internal colleagues to ensure that library systems are working with other technological and web-based systems such as the DAMS, TMS, and museum website
• Track departmental metrics, evaluating systems and procedures to assess library usage and effectiveness
• Contribute to interdepartmental and cross-division teams to develop priorities and capabilities for digitizing library and special collections
• Work with the Technology department to determine procurement of hardware and software for back-of-house and front-facing needs
• Develop and carry out trainings for relevant staff on library systems
• Contribute to the planning, design, and coordinated use of the library spaces, both public and back-of-house, to ensure operations and programming can be implemented for a wide range of diverse constituencies
• Collaborate to leverage the Museums library collections and reading room for community benefit, ensuring that people with a range of physical, cognitive, and sensory capacities can fully participate in programs and the use of its resources
• Assist museum staff and public researchers with research and provide technical assistance as needed
• Supervise part-time or project librarians, interns, or volunteers

CORE COMPETENCIES

• Applying Expertise & Technology Applies specialist and detailed technical expertise; Develops job knowledge and expertise through continual professional development; Shares expertise and knowledge with others; Uses technology to achieve work objectives; Demonstrates appropriate physical co-ordination and endurance, manual skill, spatial awareness and dexterity; Demonstrates an understanding of different organizational departments and functions
• Planning & Organizing Sets clearly defined objectives; Plans activities and projects well in advance and takes account of possible changing circumstances; Manages time effectively; Identifies and organizes resources needed to accomplish tasks; Monitors performance against deadlines and milestones
• Adapting & Responding to Change Adapts to changing circumstances; accepts new ideas and changing initiatives; adapts interpersonal style to suit different people or situations; shows respect and sensitivity towards differences; deals with ambiguity, making positive use of the opportunities it presents
• Creating & Innovating -- Produces new ideas, approaches or insights; Creates innovative products or designs; Produces a range of solutions to problems; Seeks opportunities for organizational improvement; Devises effective change initiatives

Education & Experience

• Masters degree in ALA-accredited library and information science
• Minimum five (5) years working with an integrated library or archival management system, including experience developing, implementing, and managing those systems, preferably some in an art museum library setting
• Experience managing budgets
• Experience overseeing and executing a high volume of projects and multiple tasks simultaneously
• Demonstrated practice of centering DEAI principles and values in relationships with internal and external collaborators and program frameworks
• Experience working to make library resources and spaces (both physical and digital) more accessible and inclusive preferred
• Experience working in a start-up environment and entrepreneurial drive recommended; an awareness that the position will evolve as the Museum takes shape and form is essential

Skills

• Highly detail-oriented and organized
• Good interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills
• Excellent research skills
• Strong project management skills
• Competency with Microsoft Office suite

Knowledge

• Deep understanding of the use of technological systems, including emerging technologies and electronic resource delivery, related to library and special collections
• Command of the methods, practices, and techniques of library cataloguing (RDA, NACO, BibFrame linked data, etc.), classification and their standards
• Background in the visual arts, art history, or media studies
• Familiarity with a range of visual storytelling forms and traditions, which may include comic arts, childrens book illustration, film, magazines, or photography. Experience cataloguing this media preferred
• Practice of staying current with research and trends in library, archive, and/or museum practices and programs

Abilities

• Ability to thrive in an entrepreneurial, creative, collaborative, and nimble environment
• Ability to set priorities, and pushing projects forward using creative and innovative problem-solving skills
• Ability to work independently, be proactive, and collaborate to accomplish department and museum goals
• Must be capable of undertaking multiple projects simultaneously and balancing long- and short-term priorities
• Able to interact effectively with a broad spectrum of age levels, cultural backgrounds, and physical and cognitive abilities
• Proven ability to establish and maintain positive and collaborative working relationships with colleagues, vendors, and community members, and organizational partners
• Ability to present ideas and information clearly and compellingly, and to sensitively respond to feedback and questions from multiple audiences and stakeholders

Physical requirements

• Ability to carry out physical maneuvers that will include lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, kneeling, climbing, stooping, crouching, and reaching
• Ability to lift boxes weighing up to 40 pounds
• Ability to work in dusty environments

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