Rare Book School Summer Assistant

Description

Rare Book School (RBS) at the University of Virginia provides continuing-education opportunities for students from all disciplines and skill levels to study the history of written, printed, and digital materials with leading scholars and professionals in the field. Each summer, RBS offers a series of week-long courses on the history of the book and bibliography in Charlottesville, at remote partner institutions in Chicago, Philadelphia, and elsewhere, as well as online classes.

For the summer course sessions in Charlottesville, RBS is hiring summer assistants who will provide support in managing course sessions, catering, and other tasks related to the running of our summer programming. This is an exciting opportunity to participate in a leading humanities organization and aid in the Rare Book School’s mission of creating a “community equipped to advance historically informed understandings of our cultural heritage.”

RBS is seeking conscientious, detail-oriented, and service-driven undergraduate and graduate students as well as early career professionals to work as summer assistants in Charlottesville during the following weeks and weekends:

The starting wage for this position is $16 an hour, with time-and-a-half paid for hours worked over 40 hours. Summer assistants typically work 40–50 hours a week when courses are running, including work on the weekends.

Depending on the nature and focus of their work, assistants report to managers either in RBS’s Programs department or Collections department who create their weekly schedules. Tasks and projects are supervised by full-time members of the Programs and Collections teams.

Please submit 1) a cover letter, 2) a resumé, and 3) the names of two professional references through uploads in this portal.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until all open positions are filled.

Rare Book School (RBS) is committed to fostering an inclusive, respectful, and welcoming environment that embraces a richly diverse representation of human attributes, perspectives, and disciplines. We are equal opportunity and affirmative action employers. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, citizenship status, Vietnam era or special disabled veteran’s status, or sexual orientation.

Job Duties

– Retrieving collections materials (books, artifacts, and other objects) from RBS collections storage areas
– Assisting with the transport of collections materials to classrooms in UVA Library’s main library and in the Harrison/Small Special Collections building
– Organizing collections materials and other classroom supplies in the classrooms
– Assisting RBS faculty members with teaching needs (e.g., making and assembling photocopies, arranging classroom materials, setting up show-and-tells, &c.)
– Assisting with RBS class visits to the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
– Assisting with lab sessions (e.g., printmaking, papermaking)
– Assisting with the preparation of materials such as nametags
– Helping to prepare spaces for RBS events (e.g., lectures, coffee breaks, lunches, and dinners)
– Assisting in food preparation, making coffee, managing catering orders, grocery shopping, and clean up
– Other related tasks as assigned

Skills Required

Required qualifications:
– Demonstrated interest in book history, book arts, antiquarian bookselling, librarianship, archives, museums, bibliography, languages, and/or history
– Interest in service-oriented, hospitality roles
– Punctuality
– Organizational skills
– Ability to lift up to 40 pounds, ability to push/pull carts with books and classroom materials, or carts carrying food and drink, and ability to stand for at least as long as an hour
– Basic aptitude with computers and related devices

Work Schedule

28 May–8 June (Pre-Week 1 training and Week 1)
6–15 June (Week 2)
3–13 July (Week 3)
18–27 July (Week 4)
25 July–3 August (Week 5)
The summer assistants will work in the days leading up to and following the dates of each course week.

40-50 hours per week for weeks worked, including some weekend work.

During each course week, RBS provides housing either in apartment-style dormitories or in a rented house with single-occupant bedrooms for summer staffers who are not based in Charlottesville. Breakfast, lunch, coffee/tea, and some dinners are provided. Staff who work four full weeks are eligible for a tuition credit for one RBS course.

Additional Info

Desired qualifications:
– Previous experience working in a library or similar education setting
– Previous experience in food services
– Driver’s license
– Use of a car
Please note that the RBS workspace is a standard special collections library environment with possible exposure to mold and dust.