Reading Room Assistant

The-Morgan-Library-; New York (NY); On-site; USD 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

The Morgan Library & Museum in New York invites applications for a full-time Reading Room Assistant. The role facilitates researcher access to the Morgan’s special and reference collections, while ensuring the safety and security of the holdings.

The successful candidate will retrieve, reshelve, and organize materials for readers and staff, provide handling guidelines for rare items, perform reference desk duties, and handle data entry, reporting to the Head of Reader Services and collaborating

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; humanities background preferred with focus on rare books and manuscripts.
• ALA-accredited Master’s degree in library/archival/information studies or equivalent is a plus.
• 2–3 years experience in a special collections reading room or related setting.
• Strong organizational, problem-solving, and communication skills with diverse users.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and Google Suite; familiarity with ILMS systems.

Responsibilities

• Facilitate researcher access to the Morgan’s special and reference collections.
• Retrieve, reshelve, and organize materials for readers and staff.
• Provide handling instructions for rare materials and ensure proper handling.
• Perform reference desk duties and data entry as needed.
• Report to the Head of Reader Services and collaborate with colleagues across the Morgan.

Skills

Organizational skills

Communication skills

Attention to detail

Physical stamina

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s degree in library/archival/information studies

Tools

Microsoft Office

Google Workspace

Voyager/FOLIO ILMS

Job description

Description

The Morgan Library & Museum invites applications for the position of full-time Reading Room Assistant. This position facilitates researcher access to the Morgan’s special and reference collections while maintaining the security and safety of the collections. Among other duties, the Reading Room Assistant is responsible for retrieving, reshelving, and organizing materials for readers and staff, providing handling instructions for rare materials, performing reference desk duties, and data entry. This position reports to the Head of Reader Services and works closely and collaboratively with colleagues across the Morgan.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required; a strong background in the humanities (Art History, History, or Literature) with a focus on rare books and manuscripts desired; ALA-accredited Master’s degree in library, archival, or information studies or equivalent, a plus
• 2–3 years previous work experience in a special collections library reading room or other relevant experience desired
• Excellent organizational and problem-solving skills and ability to sustain close attention to detail. Strong oral and written communication skills and ability to communicate with diverse library users and staff;
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, Google Suite (Docs, Sheets, Drive)
• Familiarity with Integrated Library Systems (i.e., Voyager or FOLIO)
• Familiarity with a major Western foreign language desired (i.e., French, German, Italian, or Spanish)
• Ability to handle and move heavy books and boxes and wheel carts of books and other collection objects around campus (25–50 lbs.), extensive walking, standing, kneeling, stooping, climbing up stairs and narrow spaces; ability to work for extended periods on a computer, and tolerate moderate levels of dust and odor generated during normal collection management activities, movement of objects, and cleaning