The Department and role purpose:

We are an ambitious and developing team with a focus on providing the best experience for our students, researchers and the wider community. We are valued partners working with students, professional services and academics across the University, and professionals and organisations regionally, nationally and internationally.

The University Library and Collections is made up of six sections: Collections; Customer Services; Education, Learning and Engagement; Research and Systems; Museums, Galleries and Exhibitions; and Finance and Administration. Staff work flexibly between the sections, 7 enabled by cross-cutting groups, Collections, Education, Engagement, User Experience, Operations, Research, Staff Development and a Programme and Project Steering Group.

The Collections team, under the leadership of the Head of Collections, has broad responsibility for the acquisition, cataloguing, management, preservation and conservation of collections, including modern print and electronic collections, archives and rare books. Their work also includes the administration of reading lists, inter-library loan, and the provision of search room and enquiry services for archives and special collections. Their expertise and collections knowledge (alongside colleagues across the department, for example in our museums team) are used in support of learning, teaching, research and public engagement activities.

Role Purpose

The Archives and Special Collections at Palace Green Library comprise exceptionally rich and varied material, dating from early medieval to modern, and including manuscripts, archives, rare and open access books, maps, prints, photographs, born-digital and digitised material, and some objects. It also houses the University's institutional archive.

The postholder has responsibility for all aspects of the management of these collections access to them including

• defining and maintaining policies, procedures and standards for both physical and digital collections;
• ensuring legislative and regulatory compliance;
• storage and space management;
• collection development;
• acquisition, accessioning, cataloguing and appraisal;
• ensuring the maintenance of appropriate collections care, alongside the Senior Manager for Collections Care and Conservation;
• provision of searchroom services, both on-site and virtual;
• promotion of collections to stakeholders, users and potential users;
• selection of material for digitisation projects and support for digital scholarship more widely.

They also take a leading or collaborative role in initiatives to promote, foster and enable their use for research, education, engagement, particularly in response to new opportunities and requirements of digital scholarship and engagement.

The postholder manages a team of professional and support staff, managing service-delivery and project work, and supporting the maintenance and development of professional skills and knowledge.

The role involves building and maintaining relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, including creators, donors and depositors of collections; researchers and research projects within Durham University and externally; regional and national networks, professional bodies and funders.

The University also works in partnership with Durham Cathedral to manage and provide access to their archives, and with Ushaw College to manage and provide access to library and archive collections there. The postholder is responsible for the provision of services relating to the management of these collections and access to them, within the management and governance arrangements and partnership context with these two institutions.

Further information regarding this post is available here.