Special Collections Assistant

Education and Academic Services

This new part-time post (0.7 FTE, 3.5 days per week) is available immediately on a permanent basis.

The role is based on site. The post requires occasional out-of-hours work to support seminars and visits/events during evenings and weekends. Advanced warning would be given if this were the case.

Proposed working days are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday morning and Thursday, but there may be some flexibility. Flexible working around assigned reading room shifts may be possible in agreement with line management.

Summary of the role

The University's library services underpin research and learning by providing extensive digital and physical academic information resources. This is an exciting opportunity to join the Heritage Collections team, which is based in the Library and consists of the Special Collections and the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum. The Special Collections team is a small, friendly, enthusiastic and dedicated team managing nearly 500 archives, rare books and manuscripts collections, including major international collections relating to the Middle East, substantial South-West literature and drama collections. These are used by researchers from all over the world as well as in regular teaching and research on campus.

The Special Collections Assistant reports to the Team Leader, Special Collections,and supports day-to-day access to collections and resources by students, staff and researchers in our dedicated reading room, in seminars, events and other outreach activities using the materials, and remotely through our enquiry service for Special Collections. . Duties include regular supervision in the reading room and retrieval of materials for reading room users and for seminars and other events. Your ability to engage with customers and your excellent communication and practical skills will enable you to induct new users into the reading room, to supervise and assist them in finding information, to help them with handling materials, to process orders for copying and digitizing materials and answer enquiries as directed by the Team Leader. You will also participate in retrieving materials for seminars and lectures and undertake practical support, including maintaining documentation, keeping statistics, ordering conservation and reading room supplies, entering and amending items on a range of databases and monitoring Special Collections storage areas.

About you

You will be keen to gain experience working with Special Collections and the post offers the opportunity to learn about and take part in all our activities, including helping to organize and participate in outreach activities.

This role supports the team in all aspects of running a Special Collections Unit. You will be highly motivated and able to balance and prioritize your work. You will have an interest in Special Collections, be keen to develop your skills and will be adaptable to a rapidly changing higher education environment. You will be comfortable with supporting academic, student and research communities and external readers and enquirers. Appropriate training will be provided.

Please ensure you read the Job Description and Person Specification for full details of this role.

The University of Exeter

We are a member of the prestigious Russell Group of research-intensive universities and in the top 150 universities in the world (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022 and QS World University Ranking 2022).

Our research income in recent years means we’re the fastest growing UK Research University with some of the world’s most influential scientists, and we seek to answer some of the most fundamental issues facing humankind today through this. More than 99% of our research is of international quality and our world-leading research impact is growing faster than any other Russell Group university (2021 Research Excellence Framework). We encourage proactive engagement with industry, business and community partners to enhance the impact of research and education and improve the employability of our students. Read about our world leading research – Green Futures and how we are transforming education for a changing world. We are located in a beautiful part of the country and Exeter (a fast growing tech hub) is one of only a few UK cities to have been designated as a UNESCO Creative City.

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Commitment

With over 27,000 students and 6,400 staff from 180 different countries we offer a diverse and engaging environment where our diversity is celebrated and valued as a major strength. We are committed to creating an inclusive culture where all members of our community are supported to thrive; where diverse voices are heard through our engagement with evidence-based charter frameworks for gender (Athena SWAN), race equality (Race Equality Charter Mark), LGBTQ+ inclusion (Stonewall Diversity Champion) and as a Disability Confident employer. Whilst all applicants will be judged on merit alone, we particularly welcome applications from groups currently underrepresented within our working community. Reasonable adjustments are available for interviews and workplaces.

Benefits

We offer some fantastic benefits including:

• 39 days leave per year pro rata (27.3 days)
• options for flexible working
• numerous discounts at leading retailers
• onsite gyms on all of our campus’ and a cycle to work scheme
• sector leading policies around maternity, adoption and shared parental leave (up to 26 weeks full pay), paternity leave (up to six weeks full pay) and a new Fertility Treatment Policy
• stunning campus environments in Exeter and Cornwall, in the beautiful South West of England

Further information

For further information, please contact Sarah-Jayne Ainsworth, Angela Mandrioli or Caroline Walter at libspc@exeter.ac.uk