Fast Facts

The University of California, Riverside is seeking a Special Collections Fellow to support the documentation and discovery of the Rupert & Jeannette Costo papers, focusing on Native American history and culture, in a collaborative and innovative environment.

Responsibilities: Engage in metadata creation, outreach to Indigenous communities, assist in exhibition design, and participate in departmental activities, all while developing collaborative relationships with library partners.

Skills: Strong communication and interpersonal skills, teamwork ability, organizational capability, and familiarity with metadata practices and cultural heritage materials.

Qualifications: A Master's degree from an ALA-accredited institution or equivalent, with demonstrated interest in archives, special collections, or Native American Studies; preference for candidates with experience in metadata and community engagement.

Location: Riverside, California, USA

Compensation: $72224 - $84745 / Annually

Special Collections Fellow

University of California Riverside

POSITION DESCRIPTION

The University of California, Riverside Library seeks applications for a Special Collections Fellow. This is a temporary, full-time, benefitted appointment for one year, with a possible one year additional extension, within the Special Collections & University Archives department (SCUA). This full-time, career-building opportunity is ideal for early-career librarians committed to the field of archives and special collections, and/or Native American Studies.

We will hold two informational sessions about this position on Zoom webinar. All are welcome to attend.

Thursday, October 9 from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm (Zoom registration link: https://ucr.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_dUSXggzmQBu8Ud3_YRxZsQ )

Monday, October 20 from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm (Zoom registration link: https://ucr.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_T4muwOayTG2uyuttZiJP3g )

Located an hour's drive to the east of Los Angeles, an hour west of Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley, an hour east of ocean beaches, ninety minutes north of San Diego, and an hour south of mountain ski resorts, UCR is located in an area of dramatic landscapes and rich cultural traditions. The University is a dynamic, aggressively developing land grant research institution dedicated to preparing its diverse student body to be successful competitors in the world marketplace of ideas.

Over the past few years, UCR has accumulated numerous accolades for its achievements. In 2022, it received the following rankings:

No. 1 public university in the U.S. for social mobility four years in a row - U.S. News & World Report
No. 1 for Hispanic enrollment among selective universities - Urban Institute
No. 2 in the country for financial aid - Business Insider
No. 2 in Entomology research in the world - Center for World University Rankings
No. 3 in Hispanic STEM graduates in the nation - National Science Foundation
No. 4 for Pell Grant student performance - Washington Monthly
No. 9 among public universities for sustainability - Princeton Review
No. 11 most diverse medical school - U.S. News
Top 12 public university - Forbes "America's Best Value Colleges"
No. 14 public university - CNBC "Colleges That Pay Off the Most"
No. 20 public university - Princeton Review Best Schools for Making a Public Impact
No. 31 in the world in plant and animal sciences - U.S. News & World Report
In addition, it has attracted faculty with some of the highest academic honors, including:
2 Nobel Prize Winners
2 Guggenheim Awards
4 UC University Professorships
11 Fulbright Scholars
28 National Academies Members
The UCR Library is a critical partner in preparing UCR's students to be globally competitive while simultaneously preparing them to be transformative leaders in the Inland Empire and beyond. The mission of the UCR Library is no less than to bring the world's information resources to the UCR community and to ensure that UCR students, faculty, and staff have the skills to fully exploit those resources to change the world for the better.
The UCR Library is a team of intensely collaborative, forward-thinking colleagues dedicated to providing exemplary services to our students, faculty, and community members in a rapidly evolving information environment. The successful candidate will be technologically-sophisticated; committed to problem-solving in local, regional, national, and international arenas; able to develop innovative solutions to complex problems; and a dynamic and effective leader.
The UCR Library is comprised of two facilities housing more than 4,900,000 volumes, 1,740,000 electronic books, 120,000 print and electronic journals, and 2,300,000 microforms. The Library provides services to more than 27,000 students and nearly 2,000 faculty and other academics in an institutional environment planning for and experiencing extensive growth. The successful candidate will join an enthusiastic staff of 100, including 36 FTE librarians and 65 FTE staff personnel as well as students, in building a research library of excellence within a dynamic and diverse university ranked among the top 50 in the nation.
The UCR Library is a member of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). Among the unique collections of the UCR Library is the Eaton Collection of Science Fiction and Fantasy, the Water Resources Collections & Archives, the Rupert Costo Library of the American Indian, the Paul Chou Collection of Chinese history and culture, the George Brown Papers, the Tomas Rivera Papers, and the Inland Empire Memories Initiative. Information about the UCR Library is available at http://library.ucr.edu .
The UCR Library is an integral part of the University of California library system. With collections totaling 40.8 million volumes, including 4.3 million digitized contents contributed to HathiTrust, UC's more than 100 libraries are surpassed in size on the American continent only by the Library of Congress collection. In addition, UC's California Digital Library (CDL) provides the core of the University's digital collections. CDL also assists UC to share resources and holdings more effectively, and provides leadership in applying technology to the development of library collections and services. Organizationally situated within the UC Office of the President, the CDL operates in close collaboration with all UC campuses and their libraries.
Key responsibilities include:
Reporting to the Special Collections Processing Archivist, the Fellowship centers on increasing documentation and discovery of the Rupert & Jeannette Costo papers, an important collection documenting Native American history and culture, through the Costo Baskets Project. The Fellow will gain professional experience in metadata and record creation, outreach to Indigenous communities, digital and physical exhibition design, and special collections librarianship, while being fully integrated into the department. This position will be supported by a dedicated team including their primary supervisor, a formal Fellowship mentor, and a professional mentoring committee.
Specific responsibilities include:
Participate in a structured onboarding and an individualized, professional development program.
Under the guidance and mentorship of Special Collections Librarians, serve as a core member of the Costo Baskets Project, which is an outreach and metadata initiative to increase knowledge and discoverability of the Rupert & Jeannette Costo papers collection.
Review, describe, and document objects in collaboration with library and community partners.
Collaborate with library partners to develop relationships and conduct outreach with local Indigenous communities to improve accessibility to culturally significant materials.
Collaborate with Digitization and Conservation staff regarding care and accessibility of collections.
Develop a physical capstone exhibition highlighting the Costo materials and sharing findings with on-campus and tribal community audiences.
Provide mid-term and final project reports to supervisors, including recommendations for continuity of the project.
Participate in Special Collections & University Archives (SCUA) departmental activities.
Mentorship Professional Development
Attend relevant conferences, webinars, and training sessions.
Under the guidance of the Fellowship Mentor, engage with a formal Mentoring Committee, including one-on-one meetings, mock interviews, application support, and professional networking guidance.
Opportunity to participate in Library and/or UC-wide committees.
Appointment at rank of Associate Librarian Temporary status. Please note that this position is a temporary, full-time, benefitted appointment for one year, with a possible one-year additional extension.
See Table 26-B: Represented Librarian Series, Fiscal Year ( https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/2025-26/represented-july-2025-scales/t26-b.pdf ) for the salary range for this position. The full salary range for the position is $72,224 - $84,745.
Department: https://library.ucr.edu/
QUALIFICATIONS
Basic qualifications (required at time of application)
Master's degree (MLS or MLIS) from an ALA-accredited institution, or equivalent professional degree in Archival Studies, or accredited graduate degree (Master's or Ph.D) with a specialization in archival management. Degree completion must have been completed no more than 3 years prior to posting date (October 2025).
Demonstrated interest or coursework in special collections, archives, or Native American Studies.
Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
Ability to work collaboratively in a team-based environment.
Excellent organizational and time management skills.
Preferred qualifications
Experience with metadata creation or cataloging practices, particularly for cultural heritage materials.
Knowledge of legal and/or ethical issues surrounding cultural materials, including Indigenous representation, provenance, and repatriation.
Experience working with Native American communities or community-based research.
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
Document requirements
Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.
Cover Letter
Statement of Research (Optional)
Statement of Teaching (Optional)
Reference requirements
3-5 required (contact information only)
Please provide contact information for a minimum of three references.
Apply link: https://aprecruit.ucr.edu/JPF02184
Help contact: jennlah@ucr.edu
ABOUT UC RIVERSIDE
The University of California, Riverside is a world-class research university with an exceptionally diverse undergraduate student body. UCR is a member institution of the American Association of Universities (AAU) as well as the Alliance of Hispanic Serving Research Universities (HSRU). A commitment to the UCR mission ( https://apro.ucr.edu/mission-statement ) is a preferred qualification.
We seek to hire scholars who will both advance our research directions and effectively educate our undergraduate and graduate students, while also engaging with University and Professional service activities. Research and teaching statements that are included with application materials are opportunities for candidates to share knowledge, experience, and goals that support the mission of UCR. For more information on UC's criteria for successful faculty, refer to the Academic Personnel Manual (APM) 210 - Criteria for Appointment, Promotion, and Appraisal ( https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/apm/apm-210.pdf ).
The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected categories under state or federal law. It is the policy of the University of California to undertake affirmative action and anti-discrimination efforts, consistent with its obligations as a Federal and State contractor.
As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, State, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.
As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct.
“Misconduct” means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer. A Misconduct Disclosure Survey will be completed through Truescreen, which is the vendor that administers this process for the campus.
For the University of California's Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy please visit: https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4000385/SVSH .
For the University of California's Anti-Discrimination Policy for Employees, Students, and Third Parties, please visit: https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/1001004/Anti-Discrimination .
For the University of California's Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment Policy, please visit: https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/apm/apm-035.pdf .
JOB LOCATION
Riverside, CA
To apply, please visit: https://aprecruit.ucr.edu/JPF02184
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