Head Librarian for the Mennonite Historical Library

The head librarian of the MHL partners with the ISGA director to leverage the MHL’s collection for greater global connection and storytelling in ways that enrich academic scholarship and current faith communities. The head librarian is responsible for collection development and preservation; organization and description of collection materials; providing research assistance to the library patrons; overseeing daily operations and personnel within the library; communicating the value of the MHL’s collections to students, faculty, and local and global researchers and partners; and promotion and outreach that deepens engagement and access.

The salary for this position $49,800 annually. Salary may be adjusted for additional qualifications above and beyond the requirement.

Position Duties

• Oversee collection development, including assessment of collection strengths and gaps, selection, acquisition and processing. Define priorities and assess possibilities for digital collections, in collaboration with the director and in conversation with global partners.
• Collaborate with the ISGA director to identify goals and objectives for the library and to align operations with departmental and college mission and vision.
• Ensure compliance of procedures with national and international metadata standards, supporting original and complex description of materials in a variety of formats and languages.
• Supervise and engage MHL staff, volunteers, and students workers in creating a collaborative work environment. Oversee and include staff in organization, description, access, and promotion of materials held by the MHL. Ensure accurate data collection and comprehensive understanding of appropriate usage statistics by staff.
• With intercultural competence, sensitivity, and flexibility, assist diverse on-site and remote researchers. Develop and implement procedures for technical operations and public services, including answering reference questions, developing research guides, and facilitating reproduction of materials.
• Encourage use of the MHL’s collection among GC and Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary faculty and students, working with faculty to identify new opportunities to integrate special collections into undergraduate and graduate curricula and research.
• Collaborate with the ISGA director to engage global and local scholars, the campus community, and the broader public with the MHL’s collection. Support a range of exhibits, programs, written materials, displays, lectures, workshops, etc. that align with the ISGA’s mission to deepen global connection and storytelling.
• Determine and regularly assess technical conditions, standards, and space needs for storage, display, and long-term preservation of the collection. Make use of available options with creativity and flexibility.
• Serve as the primary contact for GC institutional archives inquiries and for technical storage questions of the archives.

Position Qualifications

Basic Qualifications 

• Master’s degree in library science (MLS or MLIS) or relevant terminal degree and experience in relevant field
• Experience could include any of the following: metadata management; research collections; archival management; collection development for special collections; exhibit curation; grant-writing; teaching with primary source materials; and digital initiatives for special collections

Other Required Qualifications

• Excellent oral and written communications skills, subject research skills, and organizational skills
• Demonstrated interpersonal skills and intercultural competence; can competently serve patrons and students from a wide range of cultural, linguistic, and national backgrounds and work effectively with others in a multicultural environment
• Flexibility, creativity, and a willingness to innovate
• Familiarity with user-oriented bibliographic and metadata services

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of Anabaptist-Mennonite studies or adjacent fields
• Ability to perform original, copy and derived cataloging
• Supervisory experience highly desirable
• Reading knowledge of Dutch or German desirable; other language abilities also helpful
• Evidence of successful project management
• Familiarity with WorldShare Management Services or another library management system

For more information and to apply, go to www.goshen.edu/employment

Founded in 1906, the Mennonite Historical Library (MHL) at Goshen College (GC) maintains
one of the most comprehensive collections in the world related to the Radical Reformation,
Anabaptists, Hutterites, Mennonites, Amish and other Plain groups. Since the creation of the Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism (ISGA) at Goshen College in 2011, the MHL has strengthened its collection and presentation of sources that document and serve Anabaptist-Mennonite communities outside of North America and Europe. These qualities have made the Mennonite Historical Library (MHL) at Goshen College an indispensable resource for a wide range of local, domestic, and international scholars.