PROFESSIONAL LIBRARIAN VACANCY

Position: Middle East and North African Studies Librarian
Workgroup: Distinctive Collections
Reports to: Curator, Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies

Summary:

Northwestern University Library seeks a dynamic, creative, and innovative individual to provide subject expertise and scholarship for the interdisciplinary fields of the Middle East and North Africa and vastly expand our visibility and offerings in these areas. Northwestern supports undergraduate and graduate level research and teaching on the Middle East and Africa through the Program of African Studies and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Program. The librarian will provide instruction and research consultations to students and researchers at all career stages, select resources in all formats, create LibGuides and other instructional materials, and seek opportunities for collaboration within the library and university communities. The Middle East and North African Studies Librarian is part of a team of librarians within the Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies.

Responsibilities:

Reporting to the Curator of the Herskovits Library, the Middle East and North African Studies Librarian will contribute to the Library's strategic goals, supporting a suite of activities which include teaching and instruction, research, digital initiatives, outreach to researchers, and collection development. The successful candidate will:

• Serve as a liaison to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Program and other related programs and disciplines. Stay abreast of current academic programs and anticipated programming across the relevant disciplines.
• Provide reference, instruction and scholarly services to faculty and students with an interest in the Middle East and Africa.
• Develop and maintain website content, and effectively use instructional technology and social media in order to promote the subject area and reach online users.
• Establish and maintain relationships with colleagues, other libraries and institutions in the field.
• Contribute to the collaborative collection development programs within the MENA community and in which the University Library participates.
• Provide guidance on bibliographic control of resources related to the area and work collaboratively with colleagues in technical services on the acquisition, cataloguing and creation of metadata as needed.
• Serve on Library or University committees, task forces and working groups, contribute to the intellectual life on campus and within the profession.

Qualifications:

Required: Master's Degree in library and information science from an accredited institution (or international equivalent) and/or a graduate degree in Middle East Studies or another discipline; relevant research experience or advanced knowledge of the religion, history, literature and culture of the Middle East and Africa.

Oral and written Arabic proficiency; ability to work in Arabic using Microsoft applications.

Demonstrated experience in effective curriculum development, instruction, and presentation skills; initiative and proactive engagement in a university environment and potential for scholarship in a relevant discipline; excellent oral and written communication skills.

The successful candidate will possess organizational skills and enjoy working in a rapidly changing, supportive, and engaged team environment.

Preferred: Experience in an academic or other research library; experience managing publisher and vendor relationships with knowledge of the publishing industry in the Middle East and Africa. Experience in collection development or library assessment; an interest in exhibits and publicity. Reading knowledge of another Middle Eastern language, preferably Turkish, or another European language relevant to the Middle East and North Africa; or reading knowledge of an African language

Environment:

Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, is a major private university with an extensive library system. This includes the Northwestern University Libraries, two branch libraries on the Evanston Campus, and three libraries on the Chicago Campus. Northwestern University Libraries is a member of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and participates in programs of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC). Northwestern University Libraries participates in area studies initiatives of the Center for Research Libraries and Global Resources Network. The holdings of Northwestern University Libraries total over 4 million volumes.

To Apply:

Send a single, PDF-formatted file containing letter of application, resume or vita, and names of three references to the attention of Jan Hayes, Director of Organizational Development, to [email protected]. Applications received by February 5, 2016 will receive first consideration.

Northwestern University is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer of all protected classes including veterans and individuals with disabilities.

More information is located below:

Northwestern University Libraries: http://www.library.northwestern.edu

Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies: http://www.library.northwestern.edu/africana

Buffett Center: http://buffett.northwestern.edu/index.html

Middle East and North Africa Program: http://www.mena.northwestern.edu/

Program of African Studies: http://www.africanstudies.northwestern.edu/

   

Call for Contributors: Race in the World: A Comparative Exploration

 

Deadline: 31 January 2016

 

Editors: Karen Farquharson, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia; Kathryn Pillay, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa; Elisa Joy White, the University of California, Davis, USA

 

Race is a key form of social hierarchy around the world, one both explicitly expressed and implicitly obscured by proxies. This edited book will explore contemporary race from comparative and global perspectives at this critical juncture of heightened racisms made more visible and audible by varying technologies. Whether state-driven or in the everyday, this book seeks to draw light to race and its intersections, spanning a vast geo-political landscape. In so doing, we seek to develop a twofold argument. First, systems of racial hierarchy are specific to local contexts, so that to understand race it must be situated within a particular locality. Second, racial hierarchies also share important characteristics across societies. Thus, we can identify features that are common to systems of racial stratification while recognising situated specificities. We are particularly interested in papers that address the following topics:

We are seeking contributions from all parts of the globe: Africa; the Middle East; South Asia; East Asia; Southeast Asia; Europe, the Americas, the Caribbean, and Oceania. Please send chapter proposals of no greater than 500 words to Karen Farquharson ([email protected]) by 31 January 2016. Completed chapters would need to be submitted for review by 30 June 2016. Thank you.