Music Special Collections Librarian Curate Jazz Archives PTO

Oberlin College Development; Oberlin (OH); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Oberlin College and Conservatory seeks a Librarian for Music Special Collections to acquire, manage, and provide access to distinguished music holdings. You will teach with primary sources, support research, and lead projects to describe, preserve, and exhibit collections.

The role collaborates across Archives, Rare Books, and Metadata Services, supervising staff and coordinating with donors. Strong music knowledge and archival standards are essential.

Qualifications

• MLS or equivalent in archival administration is required.
• Bachelor’s degree in music or equivalent performance experience; fluent reading of Western notation.
• 2–4 years of professional library/archives experience with teaching/presentation duties.
• Experience with archival description standards (DACS/RDA/DCRM, etc.).
• Experience with library/archival schemas (EAD, MARC, MARCXML, Dublin Core, VRA Core, MODS).
• Excellent oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Willingness for ongoing professional learning and comfort with ambiguity.

Responsibilities

• Partner with Conservatory faculty on teaching and research projects.
• Enhance discoverability through cataloging, metadata, finding aids, and digital scholarship.
• Curate physical and digital collections and exhibits.
• Develop and curate collections of rare materials.
• Collaborate on gift assessment and collection development.
• Ensure proper housing/rehousing and digital file management.
• Supervise the project archivist and student workers.
• Identify materials for preservation and digitization.
• Oversee vault organization and storage conditions.
• Monitor facilities conditions and report to Head of Conservatory Library.
• Contribute to website and research/course guides development.
• Participate in library meetings and consortial groups.

Skills

Music notation literacy

Oral & written communication

Interpersonal skills

Professional learning mindset

Comfort with ambiguity

Supervisory experience

Education

MLS / Archival Administration degree

Bachelor’s degree in music or equivalent performance experience

Tools

ArchivesSpace

ContentDM

Islandora

Omeka

Alma Digital

Job description

Oberlin College and Conservatory seeks a Librarian for Music Special Collections to acquire, manage, and provide access to distinguished music holdings. You will teach with primary sources, support research, and lead projects to describe, preserve, and exhibit collections.

The role collaborates across Archives, Rare Books, and Metadata Services, supervising staff and coordinating with donors. Strong music knowledge and archival standards are essential.