John Carter Brown Library
Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
Brown University and the Board of Governors of the John Carter Brown Library seek a Director and Librarian. The John Carter Brown Library is an independently administered library and research center, founded in 1846 and located at Brown University since 1901. Throughout its history, the Library has served scholars from the United States and abroad. The Library offers fellowships, sponsors lectures and conferences, regularly mounts exhibitions for the public, and publishes catalogues, bibliographies, and other works that interpret its holdings.
The Director will oversee and build upon its world-renowned collection of primary sources for the study of North and South America during the colonial period (ca. 1492 to ca. 1825).
The Director will lead and supervise all aspects of the Library’s operations and programs, and will be responsible for the enhancement and growth of the Library’s renowned collection and reputation as a leading international center for advanced research in history and the humanities, as well as administer the cultivation and procurement of requisite resources, including grant proposals.
The successful candidate should have an earned doctorate in a field directly related to the scope of the collection and interests of the Library, and will ideally have had proven administrative supervisory experience in a scholarly setting. Extraordinary candidates without an earned doctorate or comparable administrative experience will be considered. The Director oversees all operational, programmatic, and management activities of the Library, has ultimate supervisory authority over all staff, and is responsible for the budget. The Director is also responsible for managing the Library's community of long-and short-term fellows.
The Director will report to the Provost of Brown University with respect to university administrative matters. With regard to the goals and directions of the Library, the Director will report to the Library’s Board of Governors.
The Library’s collection of 50,000 rare books (printed before ca. 1825) and 16,000 reference books and secondary sources (printed after ca. 1825) is distinguished in numerous subject areas. The Library’s extensive holdings in the literature of European exploration and travel in the Western Hemisphere, from the first Latin editions of the Columbus letter of 1493, through nearly all of the contemporary narratives of Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Dutch, and English discovery, exploration, and settlement are well known. The geography and anthropology of the Americas, the economic incentives for colonization, the social and political character of New World settlements, and the response of indigenous peoples to the European incursion are all also well covered in the collection. The Library’s interest in procuring printed and manuscript sources, specifically illustrative of the impact of America on Europe, has continuously enriched the collection. At least 20 percent of the collection consists of books printed before 1700. The Library’s collection of early maps relating to the Western Hemisphere is among the finest in the world.
The Library’s close association with Brown University and its faculty, as well as its links to scholars and institutions in the United States and abroad, offers a network of resources invaluable for fellows and researchers of its collections. The Library also provides for and fosters educational and research opportunities for the graduate and undergraduate educational community through the engagement of the Brown faculty.
In recent years the Library has taken a leadership role to digitize its collections and in making its holdings broadly available. It is expected that a successful candidate will bring a strong creative vision for its continued successful work going forward.
Review of candidates will begin on December 15, 2012 and will continue until the Director is named. Inquiries can be addressed to Kimberly Roskiewicz, Assistant to the President, Brown University atKimberly_Roskiewicz@Brown.edu. Applications should include a letter of intent, a curriculum vita and names of three references.
To apply please visit Brown University’s career opportunities website at: http://careers.brown.edu andreference Job No. H00485. Brown University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer
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