Davis - University of California - Food and Wine Archivist

 https://recruit.ucdavis.edu/JPF04417

Salary

Rank and salary: Assistant Librarian, Salary Point 1, $58,365, to Associate Librarian, Salary Point 10, $82,525

Next review date: 

Sunday, Oct 3, 2021 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date: 

Sunday, Nov 7, 2021 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

Overview of Position

The University of California, Davis seeks a dynamic and collaborative person for the position of Food and Wine Archivist. This new role will lead the library’s high profile and strategic initiatives around distinctive collections in food, wine, and other beverages. In particular, the Food and Wine Archivist will build and shape collections, increase our philanthropic support, incorporate new and evolving technologies, and expand our ability to support research, instruction, and public engagement around both the science of food and wine and their role in culture.

The successful candidate will have a singular opportunity to design and develop a cohesive program that will have a worldwide impact, while leveraging what renowned wine writer Hugh Johnson called “the greatest wine library in the world.” The Food and Wine Archivist provides vision, leadership, advocacy, interpretation, and passion for distinctive collections and serves as catalyst and coordinator for a dynamic group of activities and individuals dedicated to surfacing collections to faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, and an international community of scholars, experts, and enthusiasts.

Stronger candidates will possess deep knowledge of food and/or wine (e.g., agricultural science, the role of food/wine in culture, or industry experience); the ability to master over time the broad range of formats, subjects, and time periods represented in the collections; enthusiasm for working with faculty, students, donors, and industry partners; demonstrated aptitude for fundraising; proclivity for adopting new technologies and methods that will improve access to and use of collections; an ability to reimagine a program as it grows over time; and a collaborative and collegial outlook and spirit.

The successful candidate will imbed themselves in our larger community, working closely with external partners especially in Northern California, including a broad array of industries (restaurateurs, sommeliers, winemakers, farmers, food and wine writers, influencers) as well as relevant cultural organizations and governmental bodies, to build a strong network of donors, champions, and users.

The Food and Wine Archivist will take an active role in collection development and management, research services, outreach to various user communities (including via web content and exhibits both physical and digital), fundraising and grant writing, and donor stewardship. The Food and Wine Archivist will also provide supervision of project and student staff, and may supervise additional personnel as the library builds on our existing philanthropic support. In collaboration with others, the Food and Wine Archivist will serve as the primary contact for visiting classes, tours, and researchers and will also contribute to outreach to the campus community.

Collection areas in this role’s portfolio include both distinctive collections in Archives and Special Collections as well as research-level collections elsewhere in the library. Topics include post-harvest agriculture, viticulture, enology, the Warren Winiarski Wine Writer collection, the Northern California Food Movement, and others relevant to UC Davis research (e.g. brewing, distilling, sensory science, microbiome-terroir).

This position is in the Librarian Series and, as such, is an academic appointee. Librarians at the University of California are represented by an exclusive bargaining agent, University Council – American Federation of Teachers (UC-AFT). In addition to professional competence and quality of service within the library in the primary job, advancement in the librarian series requires professional involvement and contributions outside of the library, and/or university and community service, and/or scholarly activities.

The work location for this position is principally on campus, with some required travel (largely in northern California) and some flexibility to work remotely per applicable Library policy.

Position Responsibilities

Under the general direction of the Head of Archives and Special Collections, over time the incumbent will:

Provide leadership for the Food and Wine Program:

• Building on our new program plan for Food and Wine, guide and implement a vision as well as annual goals for programs around distinctive collections for food, wine, and related topics
• May lead and/or participate in multiple cross-library initiatives to build and sustain programmatic efforts around distinctive collections
• Manage budgets for collection development and programmatic efforts around appropriate distinctive collections
• Use data and assessment techniques to support evidence-based changes to services and programs to improve the user experience

Collection development and management:

• Provide leadership around collection development and collection management for a portfolio including archival materials, rare books and maps in Archives and Special Collections, as well as research-level collections in the general (circulating and reference) collection for appropriate topics
• Create and implement a strategy to guide collection development and work with dealers, private collectors, and donors to acquire materials for the collection through purchases and gifts
• Explore new areas for collection development and expand on existing collection strengths
• Travel to examine collections on offer and to engage with dealers and potential donors
• Conduct an ongoing analysis of collection strengths
• Acquire collections through donations and purchases in alignment with collecting goals for more inclusive collecting and the library’s strategic plan
• Work with advisory board(s) for selected donor-funded collection areas

Development:

• Provide leadership for and participate in significant development efforts to enhance collections, services, and outreach by cultivating existing and prospective donors and by seeking out and preparing funding proposals for gifts and grants in coordination with the Library Director of Development and campus partners
• Steward relationships for selected donors of gifts-in-kind in targeted collecting areas
• May conduct or coordinate oral histories with donors

Outreach:

• Interprets and promotes the library’s distinctive collections to both campus and community audiences through exhibitions, web content, social media, public events, tours, scholarly publications, and other activities that present and interpret collections for a wide set of audiences
• Provide leadership for and/or collaborate on physical and digital exhibits, events, and programs
• Work with colleagues to help set digitization priorities and to enhance and improve digital collections portals and websites providing access to distinctive collections to improve support of emerging research and teaching methodologies
• Build and sustain relationships with students and faculty
• Participate in digital scholarship and/or data science projects both within the library and elsewhere on campus
• May collaborate with faculty to design and host classes that allow students to learn directly from primary source holdings and to incorporate distinctive collections into the curriculum

Departmental contributions:

• Assist colleagues with the processing of acquisitions by assessing collections, establishing priorities, and, as needed, providing input on catalog records, finding aids, and metadata needed for digital collections
• Contributes to supporting the day-to-day operations, including staffing the reading room and providing research services via phone, email, and in person on a variety of topics
• Contributes to department-level planning and the formulation of new policies and procedures
• Advance the goals of the library’s forthcoming strategic plan, including a renewed focus on inclusion and equity
• Represent the library through participation in campus, local, regional, and national cooperative, outreach, and professional activities
• Keeps abreast of developments in archival standards and trends, applying new rules, interpretations, and techniques as appropriate
• Participate in professional development activities as appropriate to meet both personal needs as well as departmental goals and objectives
• Other duties and responsibilities as assigned
• As an academic appointee, may engage in pertinent research, scholarship, or creative activity and/or teaching