Middle East Centre Librarian

St Antony’s College invites applications for the post of Middle East Centre Librarian. St Antony’s College is one of the seven graduate colleges of the University of Oxford. The College specialises in the interdisciplinary study of international relations, economics, politics and history of particular parts of the world and has around 550 postgraduate students.   The Middle East Centre (MEC) is the centre for the interdisciplinary study of the modern Middle East in the University of Oxford.  The MEC has its own Library and Archive and hosts an extensive programme of seminars and events throughout the year.  The library was established in 1958, with the mission of providing library resources on Modern Middle Eastern Studies for students and scholars worldwide. The collection today comprises over 45,000 volumes of books, periodicals, pamphlets, and a rich collection of microfilms of old magazines in Arabic, Persian and Turkish.   Furthermore, the library includes a substantial collection of rare books as well as early printed magazines of the region and a small collection of manuscripts. The library collects materials related to social sciences and humanities subjects in vernacular languages, i.e. Arabic, Persian, Ottoman and modern Turkish, as well as European languages, with a geographical coverage of Iran, Israel, Turkey and the Arab world. In 2015 the Library moved into purpose built premises in the Investcorp Building, designed by Zaha Hadid.  In its new facilities, the Library benefits from an integrated circulation, stock management and security system by Bibliotheca, and new electronic rolling stacks by Bruynzeel, making it one of the most advanced libraries in the Oxford system.  The new library facilities have also allowed for a significant expansion of desks for readers and storage space for new acquisitions. The MEC Librarian’s responsibilities are to provide the optimal library resources for students, Fellows and guests of the MEC, and to plan for the development of the library resources in the context of the Centre’s academic requirements as they evolve.  Main duties will include collection development, reader services, and book acquisition budget management.   To be successful in your application, you will have proven experience of working at a professional level in a library. You will have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, experience of managing a budget, and be able to identify and meet the needs of all library users in order to deliver a high quality service. It is essential for the post-holder to be able to read Persian and/or Arabic and ideally have a working knowledge of other relevant languages such as Turkish or French.  Excellent ICT skills, including a high level of competence in all aspects of automated library management systems, and an interest in developing and extending the library’s use of ICT in the service it provides to users, will also be important. A post-graduate qualification in librarianship/information science would be advantageous. In return, we offer excellent benefits including 41 days’ annual leave (including bank/public holidays), membership of the USS pension scheme, free meals in College during normal working hours and when the Hall is open, and access to a car parking space in the College’s grounds if available. The closing date for applications is 9am Thursday 8th February 2024. Interviews are expected to be held in the week commencing 19th February 2024. St Antony’s College is an equal opportunities employer.