Director, Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library - Columbia University Libraries

The Columbia University Libraries invite applications from experienced professionals with demonstrated managerial and curatorial skills for the position of Director, Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library.

With more than 450,000 monographs, some 1,500 active serial titles, and substantial holdings of drawings and archives, the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library is one of the premier repositories of its kind in the world. It includes Avery Classics, containing approximately 35,000 rare books published over seven centuries, with important holdings of graphic suites, periodicals, manuscripts, broadsides, photographs and printed ephemera. Its renowned Drawings & Archives collection, located in the recently completed Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Study Center, is focused on American architects and contains well over one-million documents in more than 330 discrete collections. It has significant holdings of work by Alexander Jackson Davis, Hugh Ferriss, Greene & Greene, Philip Johnson, Richard Upjohn, Warren & Wetmore, Stanford White, and Frank Lloyd Wright. On the Columbia campus, Avery’s staff of twenty five serves professional and academic programs in architecture, archeology, art history, urban planning and design, and historic preservation. In addition, the Avery Library has, since 1934, maintained the Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals, which it currently produces in collaboration with the Getty Research Institute. The Avery’s exhibition loan program is international in scope and also contributes regularly to shows in New York’s major museums.

This position carries administrative responsibility for the staff of Columbia University's Art Properties unit, which also operates the Department of Art History and Archaeology’s Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery.

The successful candidate will have:

• A thorough knowledge of the history of art and architecture

• Evidence of the ability to manage a research library

• The ability to work effectively with students and faculty

• Demonstrated curatorial skills and commitments, including a thorough knowledge of the history of the book and a record of scholarly accomplishment

• Experience and interest in the applications of new technology in library settings

• Superior skills in communicating, both orally and in writing

• Demonstrated ability to cultivate friends and donors

• Advanced graduate training in a relevant subject area and an MLS or the equivalent in theory and practice

One of the world's leading research universities, Columbia provides outstanding opportunities to work and grow in a unique intellectual community. Set in the Morningside Heights academic village, Columbia also presents the unmatched dynamism, diversity and cultural richness of New York City. The University Libraries, grounded in collections of remarkable depth and breadth, are also building extensive electronic resources and services. The Libraries at Columbia are committed to collegiality, professionalism, innovation and leadership.

For immediate consideration, please e-mail your resume to libjobs2@columbia.edu and include the names, addresses and phone numbers of three references. Please include Job Search # UL 70108006 in the subject line of your e-mail. Applications will be accepted immediately and until the position is filled. The Search Committee will begin reviewing resumes in July, 2008.

Columbia University is An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. Minorities and women are encouraged to apply.