Curator of Early Printed Books

The Huntington Group; Los Angeles (CA); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid remote schedule

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

403(b) retirement plan

Paid time off

Staff discounts

Museum admissions

Guest passes

Job summary

The Huntington Library in Los Angeles seeks a Curator of Early Printed Books to steward and interpret its hand-press era collections (1450–1800). The role focuses on rare books, incunabula, and extra-illustrated volumes, with responsibilities across exhibitions, public talks, and scholarly outreach.

Candidates should have at least 5 years in special collections or a research library, with a PhD preferred or MLIS; experience acquiring rare materials and digitization projects; reading knowledge of

Qualifications

• Experience with rare books and primary sources in special collections.
• Advanced provenance research experience.
• Digitization projects and digital humanities work.
• Reading knowledge of German or Latin.

Responsibilities

• Steward and develop rare and special collections of Early Printed Books.
• Interpret collections via exhibitions, lectures, public talks, tours, and outreach.
• Provide research and reference assistance to users (in person and remotely).
• Collaborate with Library Director and Head of Library Curatorial to identify donors and grants.
• Work with Preservation and Cataloging teams on access and description improvements.
• Advise Education and Public Programs on interpretation of content and participate institution-wide.
• Stay current with scholarly/library issues and trends.
• Represent the Library in professional organizations at various levels.

Skills

Special collections

Research library

Rare materials acquisition

Digitization

Digital humanities

Public speaking

Interpersonal skills

Diversity & inclusion awareness

Education

PhD preferred

MLIS

Advanced degree in History/Literature

Tools

ESTC

ISTC

MEI (Material Evidence in Incunabula)

Job description

About Us

At The Huntington, we believe that having a team of diverse backgrounds and voices working together will enable us to support and promote the appreciation of the humanities, the arts, and botanical science. The Huntington is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing employment opportunities regardless of race, religious creed, color, national origin, disability, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation or any other characteristic protected by local, state or federal law.

The Huntington

Founded in 1919, The Huntington is a collections-based research and educational institution open to the public, housing world-class library, art, and botanical collections. Its mission is to support research and promote education in the arts, humanities, and botanical science and to display and interpret its extraordinary resources for diverse audiences.

The Culture

Here we are committed to the highest of standards in all that we do – from preserving and protecting the collections, to exhibitions, educational and scholarly programming, visitor and reader services, and beyond. Achieving excellence across these pursuits requires a diversity of perspectives, expertise, experience, and methodologies.

At The Huntington, our organizational Culture is shaped by the following core values: Intellectual curiosity, Collaboration, Stewardship, Belonging, and Integrity.

• Intellectual Curiosity: Knowledge, lifelong learning, and a spirit of inquiry are at the core of our mission and organizational culture.
• Collaboration: Teamwork and a collaborative attitude are important at all levels of The Huntington. We foster relationships internally among our departments and externally with organizations throughout the community.
• Stewardship: We are committed to the care and development of our collections, our financial and physical resources, our staff, and our community.
• Belonging: We strive to attract and maintain a workforce of individuals with diverse talents, backgrounds, and perspectives. Our organizational culture promotes a sense of welcome, inclusion, and connection.
• Integrity: We value respect and honesty, working to fulfill our mission with honor and ethical principles.

About the Role

The Huntington Library seeks a Curator of Early Printed Books to serve as a creative and collaborative professional in stewarding, developing, and interpreting its exceptional collection of books from the handpress era (ca. 1450-1800). The collections in this area have been thoughtfully developed over the last century and remain a major focus of the institution. The Library holds over 400,000 early printed books, including more than 5,000 incunabula. The Curator of Early Printed Books is also responsible for stewarding one of the world's largest collections of extra-illustrated books.

The Curator of Early Printed Books is part of the Library’s unified Curatorial Department staff. S/he/they report to the Head of the Library Curatorial Department and will work closely with other curators with intersecting collection areas and scholarly expertise.

The collections in this area are one of the world's richest sources for the printed record of Great Britain and the United States. Copies of more than a third of the known English editions through 1640 are present, and nearly a third from 1641-1700. These include multiples copies of the Shakespeare and Ben Jonson folios, many rare early quartos, and most of the play collections of John Philip Kemble and the Dukes of Devonshire. The Huntington is also home to the Bridgewater library, the oldest large family collection of England to survive virtually intact. The collections also include early Continental printed books, with almost a quarter retaining their original bindings. Beginning with the Gutenberg Bible on parchment, the collection also includes block books, uniquely decorated copies, rare Spanish imprints, 16th-century Mexican books, and printed atlases.

The Huntington welcomes over one million visitors each year to its gardens, art galleries, and library exhibition halls, while also facilitating one of the largest scholarly fellowship programs in the United States. The library is considered one of the world’s great independent research libraries, with 12 million collection items across fourteen core intersecting collecting areas. Every year, researchers from some 30 countries make thousands of visits to the Library’s reading rooms. The successful candidate will demonstrate a background of working directly with people from diverse racial, ethnic, geographic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, using a welcoming, inclusive, and accessible approach. The successful applicant will also demonstrate an understanding of the role of special collection resources in contemporary scholarship, as well as an aptitude for the focused acquisition of collection materials in this field, and their imaginative interpretation through public exhibitions and talks for diverse audiences.

Essential Duties

• Stewards and develops the Library’s extensive rare and special collections in Early Printed Books from the hand-press era (1450-1800) through gift and purchase, and informs the development of the general reference collections in this area.
• Interprets collections for the widest possible audiences (from scholars to the general public) through exhibitions, academic lectures, public talks, tours, conferences, publications, digital initiatives, and outreach activities.
• Provides research and reference assistance for the collection to users (in person and remotely) and participates in the review of Huntington fellowship applications for appropriateness to the collections.
• Works with Library Director, Advancement staff, and Head of Library Curatorial to identify and steward donors and to win and implement grants useful to the collections and the institution.
• Works closely with the Technical Services team responsible for the creation of access tools on collection priorities and the appropriate level of description for catalog records based upon an understanding of the materials and scholarly and research needs.
• Works with Reader Services to promote and develop tools to improve access and understanding of the collections, including LibGuides.
• Establishes priorities and initiates projects for the preservation and conservation of collections, in collaboration with the Head of Preservation, Preservation staff, and the Head of Library Curatorial.
• Advises colleagues in Education and Public Programs on appropriate interpretation of content and participates in programs across the institution.
• Keeps current with relevant developments, issues, concerns, and trends in scholarly and library professional communities.
• Represents the Library and contributes to appropriate professional organizations at the local, regional, national, and international levels.
• Contributes to departmental, division, and institution-wide activities and initiatives in collaboration with colleagues and support staff.

Candidate Requirements And Experience

Knowledge, skills, and abilities:

• Specific subject knowledge of the history of the book in the hand-press era, European printing methods, bibliography, and the history of the book usually obtained through a PhD (preferred), MLIS, or advanced degree in a relevant discipline (History, Literature, etc.)
• Familiarity with the catalogues of incunabula and printed books of the fifteenth through eighteenth centuries, like the English Short Title Catalogue (ESTC) and Incunabula Short Title Catalogue (ISTC).
• Familiarity with Material Evidence in Incunabula (MEI) project and the ability to supervise international interns working on projects that contribute content to the project.
• Demonstrated experience conducting advanced research with rare books and primary sources and advanced provenance research.
• Familiarity with library and special collection standards, copyright issues, and managing restricted collections, typically obtained through an MLIS degree or equivalent experience.
• Knowledge of the rare book trade.
• Excellent organizational, analytical, oral, and written communication skills, including public speaking skills.
• Reading knowledge of a non-English European language relevant to the collection strengths, preferably German and/or Latin.
• Understanding of preservation issues common in special collection libraries.
• Ability to effectively prioritize competing tasks and excel in a fast-paced, demanding, and engaging research library with a public mission.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work with a diverse group of colleagues, researchers, donors, and other individuals and communities.
• Demonstrated collegiality, professional contributions, and a record of collaboration.

Experience

• A minimum of 5 years of professional work experience in special collections or a research library.
• Experience in acquiring rare materials.
• Experience with digitization and digital humanities projects.
• A record of scholarly and professional contributions.

Working Conditions

• Normal office environment.
• Some weekend and evening work is required.
• Some local, national, and international travel is required.

Compensation & Benefits

• Pay Range: $90,000.00- $110,000.00. Commensurate with experience.
• Medical, Dental, Vision
• 403(b) retirement plan and matching retirement plan with an outstanding employer match
• Hybrid remote work schedule available for applicable positions
• Considerable paid time off, including annual leave, sick leave, and holidays
• Discounts for staff in The Huntington Store and restaurants
• Free admission to various museums and cultural institutions
• Free passes each month to welcome family and friends to visit the grounds

The Application Process

Please note that The Huntington is currently unable to provide or sponsor employment visas. Applicants who require visa sponsorship to obtain or maintain employment authorization in the United States should be aware that visa sponsorship is not available for this position.