Position: Mystic Seaport

Mystic Seaport, the Museum of America and the Sea, seeks and Collections and Research Access Associate. This is a full time 35 hour/week position.

The successful applicant will provide intellectual, physical and electronic access to the Collections of Mystic Seaport specializing in, but not limited to the historic, contemporary and Rosenfeld photograph and image collections. Requirements include Bachelor’s degree with general computer knowledge and historical curiosity. Candidate must be team and customer-oriented with the ability to handle fragile objects. Starting pay $11.00 – $13.00/hr depending upon qualifications.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Staff the Collections Reference and Research Room on a rotating basis. Duties include shelving of retrieved Collections materials, circulation of books, answering phones, overseeing reading room, etc.
• Respond to reference requests, including onsite, written, commercial and personal, related to the Collections using all available Collections Access Systems.
• Master the various means of Collections access, including but not limited to Voyager, XG, websites, visual files, card files and databases.
• Serve as the point person and coordinator for access to the historic, contemporary and Rosenfeld photograph collections.
• Advise patrons and clients on research and derivative fees when applicable and initiate production orders for Production Team.
• Help maintain Collection-wide Customer Relation Database
• Work with the licensing and product development groups to bring Collection to a wider audience through publications and products
• Participate in developing a Collections Access Plan to establish and maintain a fine-tuned, web-centric system of access to collections information.
• Work as part of team to develop Collections Cataloging priorities. Specifically providing information on optimizing Collections usage and the understanding of the need to get the information about Collections out to users in a timely fashion.
• Improve and increase public Web resources related to the Collections
• Promote awareness and use of the collections, advocating the department within the Museum, related professional communities, educational institutions and the general public.
• Encourage and recruit other staff in the department to participate in various outreach efforts
• Compile Collections access statistics and prepares monthly reports
• Co-ordinate tours and programs at the Collections Research Center under the direction of the Association Director of Collections Access and in accordance with Department policies

QUALIFICATIONS

• General knowledge of maritime history and terminology
• Ability to participate, lead and thrive in a team setting
• Bachelors Degree
• Knowledge of search strategies and information retrieval practices
• Strong foundation and belief in providing superior customer service
• Ability to work with and continuously learn common computer applications
• Detail-oriented and able to handle fragile objects with great care.

For information or an application visit our website www.mysticseaport.org or call Human Resources 860.572.5346. To apply, send cover letter, resume and names of three references by Feb 8, 2008 to: Mystic Seaport Museum, PO Box 6000, Mystic, CT 06355, Attn: Human Resources.