Librarian/Cataloger (Part-Time)—Ashbery Resource Center (at The Flow Chart Foundation)

The Flow Chart Foundation
348 Warren Street
Hudson, NY 12534

Seeking a part-time librarian/cataloger for The Flow Chart Foundation’s Ashbery Resource Center, a special collection library and repository in Hudson, NY. The collection is composed of library materials , as well as various objects, photographs, audio and visual recordings, artworks, and print ephemera that make up our special collections (see details below). The current catalog data is currently being ported into an ILS; much of the next phase of work will focus on cataloging unprocessed materials and revising/enhancing metadata in the new system.

About the Ashbery Resource Center
The Ashbery Resource Center (ARC)—the library and special collections of The Flow Chart Foundation—welcomes scholars, artists, writers, and readers, toward deepening scholarship, providing artistic inspiration, and offering generative opportunities to engage with the multifaceted work of John Ashbery and the wider artistic legacy of the New York School. 

The ARC acquires, preserves, and provides access to a range of primary materials from Ashbery's personal collection of visual art, books, objects, ephemera, and belongings, as well as a range of materials documenting Ashbery’s work and artistic influence. The ARC’s holdings represent the exploration of interrelationships of various art forms, offering unique opportunities for innovative scholarship and creative inspiration, and promoting new possibilities for discovery, thought, and connection as guided by the legacy of Ashbery's work.

About the Collections
The ARC’s backlog of materials include bound, photographic, video, audio, paper, LPs, visual art, ephemera, and a wide variety of three dimensional objects. What makes the ARC especially interesting to Ashbery scholars is the depth and breadth of the core of the repository, comprising Kermani’s collections of published materials about and by Ashbery. In addition to materials by and about Ashbery, the collection reflects Ashbery’s wide intellect and deep curiosity about the arts, offering extraordinarily focused and unexpected modes of access to the history of (especially) twentieth-century art and culture. While many of the bound print materials may be found in other collections, at the ARC they are uniquely gathered together and can be studied among the unique collections of recordings, objects, photographs, visual artworks, rare and one-of-a-kind publications, and other ephemera that we will process in our proposed Special Collections Establishment Project.

A few materials of note are an extensive photo collection, Ashbery’s collection of LPs and other music recordings, as well as recordings of Ashbery’s talks at New York University. The LPs, CDs and music cassettes, some 2,000+ spanning from 1949–2017, represent an invaluable collection of interest to scholars of poetry and twentieth century aesthetics, representing a significant contribution to Ashbery studies, as Ashbery always listened to music while writing. The photos include some 4,000+ images, including tintypes and daguerreotypes of Ashbery’s family roots through his time as a member of the New York School of artists and poets, and beyond. Yet to be processed is a set of some 30+ hours of recordings of public talks that Ashbery gave at New York University from 2011–2017. These recordings include tremendous insight into Ashbery’s thoughts on poetry and poetics, particularly in relation to other art forms, as well as important information about Ashbery’s circle of poets and artists (including Frank O’Hara, Barbara Guest, Jane Freilicher, and Fairfield Porter), as well as explication of topics such as film and its role in his creative process. Ashbery collaborated extensively with a diverse group of visual artists and publishers and the ARC has a collection of dozens of limited edition artist books, as well as Ashbery’s art-making and collage materials, including an extensive set of visual art materials collected by Ashbery for future collage works. ARC backlog materials also include numerous artworks owned by Ashbery with direct connection to his work, from Japanese prints to contemporary paintings, prints, drawings, collages, sculptures, and other art works.

Qualifications:

• ALA-accredited MLIS/MLS degree

• Experience with bibliographic utilities and integrated library systems;  experience with OPALS a plus

• Experience performing original and complex cataloging, and enhancement of records.

• Experience cataloging non-print materials a plus

• Knowledge of cataloging standards, including RDA, MARC21, LCSH, and LCC

• Knowledge of/interest in literature/poetry/art—the New York School or mid-century American avant-garde poetry in particular—as well as mid-century/modern visual artists 

• Ability to work independently or as part of a team

• Experience with project planning and coordination of multiple projects

• Ability to lift 40 lbs. 

• Prior experience working with a special collection/repository and handling archival materials a plus 

• Experience writing or assisting in writing NEH and other humanities grant applications a plus

Responsibilities:

• Cataloging library materials and maintaining physical library and special collections items.

• Editing metadata in our ILS

• Implementing Preservation Plan directives 

• Following Ashbery Resource Center Strategic Plan directives

• Assisting in the preparation of grant applications

• Working with scholars/artists working in the collection

Typical Schedule: 2–3 days/week (10–20 hours/week), with some flexibility. $30/hr.

Early career librarians and persons of color are particularly encouraged to apply. 

To Apply:  Send resume and references, attached to an email serving as a cover letter, to info@flowchartfoundation.org with Subject: Librarian

Deadline for submitting: December 15, 2024. Selected candidate will (ideally) start in early January.