Job Search Strategy
Given my extensive background in humanities music academia (PhD in Musicology, UCLA 2003), my goal in Library & Information Science is to combine my research and instructional skills and my IT skills within a full-time position as a Music Librarian. Due to the specialized nature of certain Music Library activities, relevant jobs usually appear on the job lists of such organizations as: the American Musicological Society, the Music Library Association, the Canadian University Music Society, and the Canadian Association of Music Libraries. Between mid-April and mid-June of 2016, I saw only three relevant jobs posted. They included Head Music Librarian both at the University of Toronto and at the University of Cincinnati, as well as a partly-music-related Collections Assistant position at Mount Allison University. The Toronto position also appeared on the job listings of the University of Toronto's iSchool.
The position at the University of Toronto (where I did my MA in Musicology) is the highest level Music Library job in Canada. U of T's Music Library at its Faculty of
Music is the largest in the country and one of the world's largest. It has more than
300,000 books, scores, and periodicals; nearly 200,000 sound recordings;
extensive archival collections; and access to millions of electronic resources. The scholarly-support and development/planning aspects of the position certainly fit with my academic background, as well as with my interests in digital resources, metadata, open access, information literacy, and online music delivery. I already also know many of the university's music professors, most of its library staff members, and its recently-retired (1974-2013) Head Music Librarian. However,
the position also includes various "senior administrative" managerial activities,
such as: communicating with stakeholders, partners, and potential donors and overseeing all aspects of the library's daily operations.
The University of Cincinnati describes its Head Music Librarian position quite similarly to the one at the University of Toronto, although its library contains holdings only about 35-40% of the size. Clearly, the managerial elements of the Toronto and Cincinnati positions are both at far too high a level for someone just starting off in LIS. However, as representatives of ideal future positions, I would rank them as follows:
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University of Toronto, Faculty of Music, Head Librarian
http://current.ischool.utoronto.ca/jobsite/2016/head-librarian-faculty-music -
University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Head Librarian
https://career8.successfactors.com/sfcareer/jobreqcareer?jobId=8381
A recently-posted 50% Music, 25% University Archives, and 25% Special Collections position as a Collections Assistant at Mount Allison University (http://ca.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=f219b92c72f1692b) seems to be a much closer, "best outcome" fit for an emerging LIS professional with a music background. The position requires graduation from a Library or Archival Technician program or a combination of experience in libraries/archives (e.g., cataloguing/metadata) and a strong background in music, history, literature, or a related discipline. The position includes activities in: circulation, reference, cataloguing (RDA, finding aids, rare books, etc.), verifying controlled access points, overseeing digitization projects, ensuring collection preservation, hiring and supervising student assistants, and overseeing study areas and equipment. This type of position would certainly provide a nicely-varied place to start a Music LIS career.
Based on these recent postings (and earlier experiences), three places to continue monitoring for Music Librarian and related positions are:
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The "AMS Announce" E-Mail List of the American Musicological Society
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The University of Toronto's iSchool Job List
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Indeed Canada (aggregated job postings from job boards, staffing firms, associations, and company career pages)
Music Library positions don't become available very often, but I would check these and other resources on a regular basis, such as every week or two.