Librarian for African American & Black Diaspora Studies

Librarian for African American and Black Diaspora Studies

The New York University Division of Libraries is seeking a liaison librarian to develop and deliver library programs and services for NYU students, scholars, researchers, and artists who situate their work in African American and Black Diaspora Studies. This position would support related academic programs across NYU, including the Institute of African American Affairs, Center for Black Visual Culture, Center for the Study of Africa and the African Diaspora, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Department of History, and more; and help to build and sustain a local intellectual community centered on Black diasporic histories, political and cultural movements, institutions, economies, and identities.

In this tenure track position, the Librarian for African American and Black Diaspora Studies will lead efforts to connect with scholarly communities at NYU by defining and delivering an integrated program of outreach, consultation, collections, and support for research and scholarship through an anti-racist lens. As part of that program, they will develop distinctive, interdisciplinary, multi-format, and intersectional library collections that serve the unique and wide-ranging needs of our students, artists, scholars, and researchers both locally and nationally. They will support the curriculum and create innovative services that advance teaching, learning, and research practices that encompass new research methods and modes of inquiry. They will collaborate with groups across NYU to deliver programming that builds community and prioritizes the needs of underrepresented communities. To best support this local mission, they will also engage and coordinate with the national and international community of Africana and Black Studies librarians. The position is part of the liaison program in the Research & Research Services subdivision within the Libraries, where the candidate will have the opportunity to collaborate with a multidisciplinary team of colleagues in pursuit of the above work.

Research

Faculty librarians also pursue their own active research agendas, contributing their expertise, experiences, and investigations to build new knowledge in their chosen areas. This position has wide latitude in determining their research agenda and is well positioned to conduct research at the intersection of African American and Black Diaspora Studies, information science, and anti-racist library practices, including, but not limited to, trail-blazing the incorporation of anti-racism into research practice and materials, decentering whiteness in primary and secondary research, challenging the persistence of bias and racism within systems of scholarly communication and information systems, and much more. 

NYU Cluster Hiring Initiative

NYU Libraries is participating in the NYU Faculty Cluster Hiring Initiative to recruit, welcome, and support new library faculty working across the Division on timely themes of social importance, such as Inequality and Anti-racism, Population Health and Health Equity, Open Science and the Public Good, and Urban Environments and Politics. NYU Libraries will use the cluster-hire approach to address our goal of building a more diverse faculty community in a concerted way, with the full weight of the University’s recruitment and retention toolkit. It also allows us to mobilize our internal resources, including onboarding, cohort mentoring, and measures to protect time for research and service, and bring them to bear to ensure the success of new hires. For full details about the Libraries cluster hiring initiative, see this link.

This particular position is part of our Centering Underrepresented Voices: Anti-Racist Practices in Libraries and Archives cluster. The positions in the cluster are strategically placed in three core areas of librarianship: collections and subject expertise, description and discovery, and engagement and outreach. The cluster will center underrepresented communities' voices by bringing in new collections of African American and Black Diaspora Studies materials in all formats, creating anti-racist descriptive and metadata practices to support the discovery an use of these collections, and promulgating engagement and research services that draw on and support the growth of new knowledge. By approaching collections curation, description, and research support through a lens of inclusion, diversity, belonging, equity, and accessibility (IDBEA), we create a set of interlocking and cohesive supports that enrich the scholarly lives of our communities.

Qualifications 

Required 

• Minimum one graduate degree (master’s level or higher), conferred by start date, for consideration. A second graduate degree will be required to be eligible for tenure. One of the two graduate degrees must be an ALA-accredited MLS or equivalent.
• Substantive experience in one or more areas of study germane to this position, such as Africana, African Diaspora, African American, or Black Studies.  
• Experience or strong interest in the role and mission of academic libraries, including providing researcher support, building research collections, and creating programming that furthers the mission of the Library and the communities it serves.
• Experience with teaching and pedagogy, including knowledge of current and emerging issues, practices, trends, and technologies. 
• Demonstrated commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity, belonging, and accessibility within teaching, learning, and/or research services.
• Comfort operating in a virtual environment with standard tools (e.g., Zoom, Meet, Teams).

Preferred  

• ALA accredited MLS/MLIS. 
• Familiarity with Black diasporic languages, such as Haitian Creole, French, Portuguese, or Spanish.
• Experience working across organizational boundaries and managing complex stakeholder groups to move projects forward.
• Experience with teaching and pedagogy that support critical pedagogy, antiracist, and/or inclusive teaching and learning in academic libraries and/or university environments.

About NYU Libraries

The Division of Libraries values diversity among its faculty, is committed to building a culturally diverse intellectual community, and strongly encourages applications from members of underrepresented communities. We are proud of our organizational culture and are committed​ ​to​ ​building​ ​and sustaining​​ a​ ​diverse,​ ​inclusive,​ ​and equitable​ ​organization​ that supports a sense of belonging for the staff and communities we serve. For more information regarding the Libraries’ commitment to IDBE, see the Libraries’ Mission & Values Statement, our Diversity and Inclusion Values Statement, and our Commitment to Anti-Racism.

Salary/Benefits: Faculty status, attractive benefits package including five weeks annual vacation. Salary commensurate with experience and background. Faculty at NYU, including in the Division of Libraries, have always enjoyed relative flexibility in their work, allowing for moments of remote work as appropriate.

Application Instructions

We would love to hear from you! To ensure consideration, submit your CV and letter of application, including the contact information of three professional references to http://apply.interfolio.com/99379.

NYU Division of Libraries requires all candidates for this position to supply a statement demonstrating their dedication to inclusion, diversity, equity, and belonging as part of their application. Access the Diversity Statement prompt here https://nyu.box.com/v/diversity-statement

Applications will be considered until the position is filled. Preference will be given to applications received by January 10th.

EOE/AA/Minorities/Females/Vet/Disabled/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity

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