The Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary seeks a Research Fellow/Cataloger to catalog and research sixteenth-century Venetian imprints in the collection as part of a collaboration with Footprints: Jewish Books Through Time and Place. This is a part-time, grant-funded position for 10 months.

The Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary holds the foremost collection of Judaica and Hebraica in the Western Hemisphere, with a collection of approximately 400,000 volumes including significant special collections, a comprehensive general collection, and large digital collections. The Library serves the students and faculty of the institution in addition to the international community of scholars in Jewish studies and related areas. 

Description of the Position: 

To catalog and research early printed Hebraica and Judaica books from Venice. Catalog entries will be included in the JTS Library catalog and provenance information will be included in the Footprints database.

Duties/Responsibilities:  

The Research Fellow/Cataloger serves as an integral part of the special collections and processing teams in the library.  The Research Fellow will be responsible for:

  • Descriptive cataloging and provenance research for 375 sixteenth-century Hebrew books and Judaica in other languages printed in Venice. 
  • Working with OCLC and utilizing national cataloging standards (RDA and LCSH). 
  • Troubleshooting and seeking solutions with bibliographic control, controlled vocabulary, and database issues. 
  • Entering data to the Footprints database.

Minimum Requirements

  • ALA-accredited MLS/MLIS degree or MA-level study in Jewish studies or the equivalent.  
  • Academic background  in Jewish Studies and fluency in reading Hebrew. 
  • Familiarity in current Library cataloging standards and practices, RDA, LCSH, MARC21, LC romanization standards. 
  • Knowledge of and experience in standard rare book cataloging practices.
  • Familiarity with early modern Hebrew paleography. 
  • Ability to work creatively and effectively in a team environment and independently. 
  • Excellent organizational and time-management skills.
  • Ability to communicate orally and in writing.   

Preferred Requirements

  • One-year cataloging experience.  
  • Knowledge of Italian and/or Latin.

Salary:  

$25,000 for part-time position without benefits.

For more information about the position and project, please contact Marjorie Lehman (malehman@jtsa.edu), Michelle Chesner (mc3395@columbia.edu), or Naomi Steinberger (nsteinberger@jtsa.edu).

To apply, please send a letter of inquiry, CV, and the names of two references to: hrdept@jtsa.edu by June 1, 2022.