F/T - Exhibition Coordinator/Reg, Brooklyn Hist. Soc. (NY)

Brooklyn Historical Society (BHS) seeks an experienced Exhibition Coordinator/Registrar. BHS has over the past several years grown its public programming and improved access to its collections, with particular emphasis on the Library & Archives collections. Now, on the occasion of our 150th anniversary, we are working to create increased access to our art and artifacts collections, many of which have been in storage and inaccessible to the public. With a newly renovated building and new exhibition galleries, we have doubled our opportunities to exhibit the collections and reach a broad audience with the diverse history of Brooklyn through our vast and unique collections. This new position will facilitate both access to and use of the collections.

The Exhibition Coordinator/Registrar will coordinate BHS exhibitions by collaborating with curatorial and collection staff; hiring consultants for art handling, exhibition installation and fabrication; coordinating graphic design; and liaising with marketing and program staff on exhibition outreach. This position will assist the Head of Collection Management with the documentation for exhibitions, incoming/outgoing loans, and accession records for existing and new acquisitions.

Additionally, the Exhibition Coordinator/Registrar is responsible for aligning policies with AAM best practices and other state and federal laws regarding the collection and incoming loans. This position interacts with the Collection Committee of the Board of Trustees, historical society staff in several departments, contractors, interns, and volunteers.
 
Qualified candidates must demonstrate strong commitment to quality control, excellent communication, and collaboration. The Exhibition Coordinator/Registrar will play a critical role in ensuring the safety, preservation, and accurate documentation of collection assets. The Exhibition Coordinator/Registrar reports to the Head of 
Collection Management.

Job Responsibilities:
• Facilitate access to collections for the purpose of exhibition planning.
• Coordinate exhibition planning and installation including liaising with curatorial, finance, marketing and communications, and facilities staff and external partners; arranging and hiring vendors; arranging for the borrowing and lending objects, art handling, insurance, installation, and documentation.
• Plan and implement policies and procedures to ensure safe and secure storage for the collections.
• Respond to curatorial and public history staff’s requests for information about the collections.
• Coordinate and file accessioning and deaccessioning as directed by Head of Collection Management.
• Create and maintain accurate electronic and hard copy records of exhibition history, accession, condition, and location of collection assets in keeping with standard museum and archival description practices.
• With guidance and oversight from senior staff, help to organize storage for BHS collections.
• Plan and help establish policies and procedures for documentation, storage, and movement of collections.
• Integrate BHS’s information databases (Past Perfect for objects and works of art) on its collections with national networks and universal systems.
• Work with Library & Archives staff to integrate description and coordinate access to art and artifact collections alongside library and archives collections.
• Coordinate the insurance of the collections with help from with the Director of Finance.
• Participate in regular departmental staff meetings as well as other interdepartmental meetings as directed.
• Other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications:
• Degree in history, art history, museum studies, library science, or other related discipline (M.A. preferred).
• Two years in a museum or historical society registration or exhibition department.
• Experience coordinating exhibitions, and installing art, artifacts, and documents
• Project management experience.
• Demonstrable ability to be accurate and detail oriented with records and collections.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Experience in the care and handling of fragile artifacts.
• A thorough, well-organized, and efficient work style.
• Prior knowledge of Past Perfect or other collections management software.
• Knowledge of standard practice in registration techniques.
• Knowledge of conservation and storage practices.
• Knowledge of insurance requirements for collections.
• Experience with the packing and transportation of collections.

Preferred Qualifications:
• Familiarity or experience using Archivists’ Toolkit or other archival content management system.
• Familiarity with archival description.
• Knowledge of U. S. history, with focus on Brooklyn or New York City history preferred.
 
Compensation:
Salary: Competitive and based on experience. Salary requirements should be specified in cover letter. Position includes full health benefits and paid vacation.

To apply: Please send a cover letter and resume to: apply@brooklynhistory.org. Subject line of the email should read: Exhibition Coordinator/Registrar Application [your last name]. Applications will be reviewed immediately. No phone calls please.
 
Position Available July 1, 2014

(Source: http://brooklynhistory.org/about/job.html)