Information & Responsibilities

The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) Library seeks a knowledgeable, experienced, service-oriented, and collaborative librarian to provide leadership, management and expertise for Library Film and Image Services and the Bijou Theater. In addition, this position serves as the liaison, selector, and subject specialist for faculty, students, and staff within the School of Film/Video. The Film and Image Services Librarian will join a team of outward-facing, forward-thinking librarians and library staff who work directly with students, faculty, and staff across the Institute as well as artists, theorists, researchers, and other practitioners at local, national, and international levels. The search committee is especially interested in candidates who, through their research, teaching, and/or artistic practice, will contribute to the diversity and excellence of our academic and artistic community.

CalArts has a multidisciplinary approach to its studies of the arts through six (6) schools: Art, Critical Studies, Dance, Film/Video, Music, and Theater. The Institute encourages students to explore and recognize the complexity of the arts. CalArts is supported by a distinguished faculty of practicing artists and provides its students with the hands-on training and exposure necessary for an artist’s growth. Founded in 1961 and opened in 1969 as the first institution of higher learning in the United States specifically for students interested in the pursuit of degrees in all areas of visual and performing arts, CalArts is proud of its diverse student body and is deeply committed to supporting the cultural and artistic aspirations of all its students.

The CalArts Library enables artists, scholars, and other library users to develop the skills necessary for creative exploration, critical reflection and lifelong learning, in an environment that supports and promotes the diversity of voices that encompass the CalArts community. The Library offers a full range of academic reference and instruction services, and contains a collection of over 200,000 physical items in all formats and approximately 300,000 electronic resources, as well as  unique archival, Artist Book, and rare-book collections. The Library’s collections intentionally reflect a wide range of experiences, identities, métier practices, and knowledge systems. Efforts to strategically decolonize the Library’s collections are active and ongoing, and this work is part of our broader conversations and efforts to continually ensure greater equity, inclusion, diversity, and accessibility within the CalArts Library and the Institute as a whole.

California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) seeks to employ faculty who can engage our diverse communities of learners at the highest levels of artistic endeavor and critical thinking. Across the range of practitioners from artists to scholars and librarians, we welcome candidates who possess a demonstrated worldview and cultural competency to support teaching and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students of varied backgrounds, capabilities, perspectives, social identities and gender expressions. CalArts is an equal opportunity employer.

Candidates for this position must legally be able to work in the U.S.

Salary range:  $69,510 to $75,830

Position starts:  July 1, 2023

Responsibilities: 

Management  and Supervisory  (40%)

• Leads and directs Film Services, Image Services, and the Bijou Theater, which includes:
  • establishing a strategic vision and implementing new projects, services, equipment, and tools.
  • developing digital image databases and expanding access to digital image resources for research, study, and teaching.
  • developing and maintaining the moving image collection.
  • the preservation of film and digital image collections.
  • setting policies and procedures for the Bijou Theater, which serves as the Institute’s primary screening space as well as the largest interdisciplinary classroom space.
• Evaluates the performance of assigned staff (2-3 FTE); recruits, interviews, hires, and trains new staff, and assumes responsibilities of assigned staff, if needed; oversees the hiring and training of student assistants.
• Recommends cataloging standards for moving image collection materials and provides metadata expertise for digital images and other digital collections.
• Serves as Chair of the Bijou Theater Technical Committee, in collaboration with the School of Film/Video, to plan and implement maintenance for and upgrades to facilities and equipment, including both film and digital projection systems.

Collection Development  (40%)

• Responsible for the development, assessment, and management of both print and moving image collections and resources in the subject area of film/video, including collection maintenance and weeding.
  • includes books, serials, 35mm and 16mm films, videos, laser discs, DVDs and Blu-rays, streaming files, etc.
• Collaborates with CalArts librarians and library staff to support an antiracist praxis and help diversify the collections as a whole.
• Works in cooperation with faculty from the School of Film/Video to acquire materials that support course offerings, instruction, and research.
• Makes recommendations for electronic database subscriptions and other online products for film/video.
• Communicates effectively and professionally with vendors and distributors.

Public Service (20%)

• Serves as the liaison, selector, and subject specialist for faculty, students, and staff within the School of Film/Video to ensure information needs are met, as well as to promote the Library’s services and resources.
• Collaborates with School of Film/Video faculty to develop and deliver programs and tools that align with information literacy learning outcomes in course-specific ways, including developing and leading information literacy instruction sessions with integrated activities and assignments.
• Creates, develops, maintains, and shares instructional materials (such as resource and research guides, tutorials, and learning objects) as well as exhibits (both on-campus and online), and provides other forms of outreach for the Library.
• Provides reference services and research support for all CalArts Library patrons (including alumni and general members of the public), both in person and via email, videoconferencing, online chat, and phone.
• Works collaboratively with colleagues to develop and feature innovative, user-centered programming.

Requirements

Education and Experience

Required

• A Master’s degree in Library and Information Science (MLIS) or equivalent from an ALA-accredited institution
• Demonstrated commitment to antiracist and inclusive information work
• An undergraduate or advanced degree in film and video or evidenced equivalent experience with film and/or moving images
• At least two (2) years experience working in an academic or arts library
• At least three (3) years management and supervisory experience
• Knowledge of and experience with analog film (35mm, 16mm, etc.) and film projection
• Knowledge of metadata standards and schemas

Preferred

• Education or experience related to inclusive and culturally responsive pedagogy
• Knowledge of current standards and best practices in digitization, digital and material preservation, and digital curation
• Demonstrated experience in providing reference services and library instruction

Abilities and Expectations

Work comfortably and equally well in both independent and collaborative situations

• Work with and create a welcoming environment for students, faculty, and staff from a wide range of cultural, linguistic, academic, and artistic backgrounds
• Foster and reinforce a mutually supportive work environment within the Library and across the entire Library team
• Work with CalArts Library faculty (librarians) and staff to provide high-quality, user-centered public services
• Plan, organize, schedule work, set priorities, and meet deadlines
• A strong commitment to excellence in public service and the ability to work effectively in a collaborative and culturally diverse environment
• Excellent oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills

How to Apply

Please go to this link to apply: https://apply.interfolio.com/121866

Please provide:

• Cover letter that describes your relevant qualifications and your interest in the position

• Current résumé or CV

• Brief diversity statement: Please provide one to two paragraphs describing how diversity, equity, and inclusion figure in your past and present teaching, research, experience, or service. In an additional one to two paragraphs, outline your plans for how you might continue to address and work with diversity, equity, access and inclusion in your areas of service within the CalArts Library.

• List of three references

All submissions are confidential.

Applications should be submitted by March 31, 2023 for full consideration.

Equity & Diversity

California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) seeks to employ faculty who can engage our diverse communities of learners at the highest levels of artistic endeavor and critical thinking.  Across the range of practitioners from artists to scholars and librarians, we welcome candidates who possess a demonstrated worldview and cultural competency to support teaching and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students of varied backgrounds, capabilities, perspectives, social identities and gender expressions. CalArts is an equal opportunity employer.

Further Information

CalArts has a multidisciplinary approach to its studies of the arts through six schools: Art, Critical Studies, Dance, Film/Video, Music and Theater. CalArts encourages students to explore and recognize the complexity of the many aspects of the arts. It is supported by a distinguished faculty of practicing artists and provides its Bachelor and Master of Fine Arts students with the hands-on training and exposure necessary for an artist’s growth. CalArts was founded in 1961 and opened in 1969 as the first institution of higher learning in the United States specifically for students interested in the pursuit of degrees in all areas of visual and performing arts.