Job Posting (Closes Tuesday): GS-1015-12 Staff Curator (Museum Management)

Staff Curator (Museum Management)
Immediate Office of the Chief of Naval Operations
Agency contact information
1 vacancy in the following location: Richmond, VA
Work Schedule is Full Time – Permanent
Opened Friday 5/20/2016 to Closes Tuesday 5/24/2016
Salary Range: $72,509.00 to $94,262.00 / Per Year
Series & Grade: GS-1015-12/12
Supervisory Status: No
Who May Apply: United States Citizens
Control Number: 439520000
Job Announcement Number: NE61015-12-1709785NM393290D
http://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/439520000
Job Overview
Summary
The Navy and Marine Corps team offers innovative, exciting and meaningful work linking military and civilian talents to achieve our mission and safeguard our freedoms. Department of the Navy provides competitive salaries, comprehensive benefits, and extensive professional development and training. From pipefitters to accountants, scientists to engineers, doctors to nurses-the careers and opportunities to make a difference are endless. Civilian careers-where purpose and patriotism unite!
The mission of the Naval History and Heritage Command is to collect, preserve, protect, and make available the artifacts, documents, and art that best embody our naval history and heritage for present and future generations; advance the knowledge of naval history and heritage through professional research, analysis, interpretation, products and services; make naval history and heritage “come alive” for our Sailors and Marines to enhance readiness and esprit de corps.  This position is located in the Conservation Branch of the Collections Management Division and is responsible for the preservation and conservation of artifacts, textiles, artwork and paper collections and assists other branches and commands in the conservation of large artifacts.
Duties
•Assist in the supervision and direction of the daily operations of the Conservation Laboratory.
•Participate in the management of, and executes, conservation treatments to stabilize and preserve historic artifacts, textiles, artwork and paper media.
•Assist with condition assessments and advise on long-term collections care strategies and environmental control standards.
•Perform conservation and materials science research activities.
•Coordinate with the Collection Manager on issues related to management of the facility.
•Serves as lead conservator in the absence of the branch head.
Travel Required: Not Required
Relocation Authorized: No
Job Requirements
Key Requirements
•You must be a US Citizen.
•Males must be registered or exempt from Selective Service. www.sss.gov
•Selectee must be determined suitable for federal employment.
•Selectee may be required to successfully complete a probationary period.
•Selectee is required to participate in the direct deposit pay program.
•See special requirements section for additional requirements.
Qualifications
In order to qualify for this position, your resume must provide sufficient experience and/or education, knowledge, skills, and abilities, to perform the duties of the specific position for which you are being considered.   Your resume is the key means we have for evaluating your skills, knowledge, and abilities, as they relate to this position. Therefore, we encourage you to be clear and specific when describing your experience.
Applicants must meet the following positive education qualifications requirements of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualifications Standards Manual: Applicants must possess a degree in museum work, or in an applicable subject-matter field; a combination of education and experience with courses equivalent to a major in museum work or applicable subject matter field, plus appropriate experience or additional education; or have four years of experience that provided knowledge comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of the 4-year course of study as shown above.
In addition, your resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-11grade level or pay band in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector. Specialized experience must demonstrate the following: 1) assist in managing a museum collection, library and archive; 2) perform museum collection conservation practices in accordance with professional standards; 3) prepare lectures and presentations on conservation procedures and methodologies for tours, workshops, conferences, symposia and command needs.
This position has a selective placement factor needed in order to qualify. The actual Selective Placement Factor is experience executing conservation treatments to stabilize and preserve historic artifacts, textiles, artwork, and paper media in accordance with professional standards.  Possession of the factor MUST be verifiable via your resume. Failure to possess this factor WILL result in an ineligible rating.
Additional qualification information can be found from the following Office of Personnel Management web site:   https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1000/museum-curator-series-1015/
You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer and part time experience. You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the total number of hours per week.
Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., professional, philanthropic, religious, spiritual, community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment.
As part of the application process, you must complete and submit an occupational questionnaire. To preview this questionnaire and determine if your experience matches the required skills for this position, click the following link: View Assessment Questions
Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating and/or appointment eligibility.
For positions requiring positive education requirements, or if you are using education to meet all or part of the qualification requirements, you must submit a copy of your transcripts or an itemized list of college courses which includes equivalent information from the transcript (course title, semester/quarter hours, and grade/degree earned) in your resume.   See OPM’s General Policies for information on crediting education.
Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the qualification requirements if the applicant can provide documentation indicating that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is the responsibility of the applicant to provide such evidence when applying for further information, visit:http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html
A security clearance is a requirement of this position. Failure to obtain and maintain the required level of clearance may result in the withdrawal of a position offer or removal.  If you possess a security clearance, please indicate the level and termination date in your resume.
Work requires frequent bending, stooping, walking, standing, working in cramped positions, and climbing.
This position is eligible for part time, full time or ad-hoc telework.
Work requires use of Personal Protective Equipment, which includes but is not limited to protective footwear, eyewear, and hearing protection.
Work may be performed in physically dangerous locations, e.g. extreme height for treatment of sculptural or architectural artifacts.
Conservation treatments may require use of and exposure to toxic, carcinogenic, cryogenic, acidic, corrosive, or other hazardous materials.
Selectee must obtain and maintain a current valid United States driver’s license.
Security Clearance: Secret
Department of the Navy
Immediate Office of the Chief of Naval Operations
Naval History and Heritage Command
Contact:
DON Employment Info Center EIC
Phone: 8003784559
TDD: 858-577-5723
Email: DONEIC@NAVY.MIL
Address:
Immediate Office of the Chief of Naval Operations
700 Robbins Avenue
Philadelphia,  PA

First JAIC issue of 2016 now posted online

The first issue of JAIC in 2016 is now posted online at Taylor & Francis’s journal page. You can download articles at http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/yjac20/55/1.  As always, AIC members get full access to all JAIC content. Members should first log in, then access the articles through the link on this page.
In this issue, we feature these articles:

 
The Editor-in-Chief’s editorial is excerpted below.

Recently, I have received letters from readers inquiring about our journal’s scope. As noted online, JAIC “welcomes short communications and longer submissions on subjects of interest to professional conservators. Subjects may include conservation treatment case studies; issues of conservation history, philosophy, or method; conservation research; or technical studies aimed at addressing questions in allied fields.” Our scope has not changed. Readers have also expressed interest in seeing more articles dealing with treatment methods and materials being adopted into conservation practice. It may appear that research has become the journal’s focus, but this stems from a dearth of submissions pertaining to treatment. As AIC’s primary vehicle for the publication of peer-reviewed papers on subjects of interest to professional conservators, we fully encourage authors to submit treatment papers to the Journal.

In an article in the AIC member newsletter (AIC News, November 2015), I wrote that encouraging short communications may offer a possible solution to the low frequency of papers dealing with novel materials and methods. Moreover, as former JAIC Editor Michele Derrick expressed, while short communications are not extensive enough to warrant a full article, their publication is often critical because the information might otherwise become lost to the conservation field. Short communications may introduce the use of new equipment and method variations or focus on one specific detail of a larger problem. (AIC News, September 2004). Consequently, we would like to see a gradual increase in the number of case studies and treatment papers submitted in the form of short communications. […]

At JAIC, we welcome feedback from all members of the conservation community. We are enthusiastic about working together to fulfill the needs of our readers, and want to continue serving the field to the best of our ability. Last but not least, I want to thank the authors, associate editors, anonymous reviewers, book reviewers, editorial team, and translators for their efforts in making our first issue of 2016 successful.

New film highlights preservation of art during WWII

Francofonia-Film-imageHow did the Louvre survive the Nazi occupation during World War II?
Francofonia, a new film opening in New York on Friday, dramatizes the relationship between two men from opposing countries as they strive to preserve artwork during wartime. Conservators may enjoy this glimpse into history. View the trailer or visit the website for more about the film.

From master filmmaker Alexander Sokurov, whose film Russian Ark was a love letter to the Hermitage and Russian History, Francofonia is its own cinematic essay on the imperative nature of preserving art and history in the world’s museums. Set against the backdrop of the Louvre Museum’s history and artworks,  Sokurov applies his personal vision onto staged re-enactments and archives for this fascinating portrait of real-life characters Jacques Jaujard and Count Franziskus Wolff-Metternich and their compulsory collaboration at the Louvre Museum under the Nazi Occupation. These two remarkable men – enemies, then collaborators – share an alliance which would become the driving force behind the preservation of museum treasures. In its exploration of the Louvre Museum as a living example of civilization, Francofonia is a meditation on the essential relationship between art, culture, and history.

Interspersed within the story of the Louvre under occupation is Sokurov himself, in video conference with a ship’s captain facing rough seas and terribly worried about his precious cargo: art treasures from around the world. In this narrative, Sokurov contemplates the origins of art and the sacred duty of conserving the world’s cultural treasures at nearly any cost, as he recalls the Louvre’s most trying times during World War II and the present day. — from Music Box Films

Topics in Photographic Preservation now available online

pmg-siteDear colleagues,

It is with great enthusiasm that we announce Topics in Photographic Preservation, the Photographic Materials Group (PMG) biennial publication since 1986, is now available online: http://resources.conservation-us.org/pmg-topics/ 

To date PMG has published 15 volumes of Topics in Photographic Preservation with volume 16 to be printed soon. This new website, managed by PMG with AIC support is hosted by CoOL (Conservation OnLine), and makes volumes 1-14 available to the public online for the first time. Future volumes will continue to be added 2-3 years after their initial publication.

This new Topics website also points users to additional photographic preservation articles published in the Journal of the American Institute for Conservation (JAIC), and other resources created by PMG available for sale via the AIC store (www.conservation-us.org/shop/store-catalogs).

Completing this project has taken significant commitment during our tenures as PMG Chair and Publication Committee Coordinator. That said, there are many that assisted in making this valuable resource possible both before and during our tenures and we would like to thank all those who contributed over the years, especially Brenda Bernier, Paul Messier, Lisa Duncan, Brian Raniewicz, and Bonnie Naugle.

Enjoy!

Sylvie Penichon
PMG Chair

 Jae Gutierrez
PMG Publications Committee Coordinator


Please also note these conservation publications are freely available on CoOL:

See more at http://cool.conservation-us.org/publications.html, and learn more about AIC’s specialty group publications on our website! 


 

Getting the Interview: Emerging Conservator Involvement in the FAIC Oral History Project

Amber Kerr interviewing Richard Wolbers, Associate Professor, Coordinator of Science, and Affiliated Paintings Conservator for the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation

Interviewing with iPhone
Diana Hartman interviewing Joy Gardiner, Assistant Director of Conservation and Textile Conservator at the Winterthur Museum, and Affiliated Assistant Professor for the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Since 1975 the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation (FAIC) has supported an initiative to chronicle the history of the field of conservation. The FAIC Oral History Project has resulted in a growing database of transcripts and audio recordings of interviews with conservators, conservation scientists, and individuals in related disciplines. This archive constitutes an invaluable professional resource.
I became involved in the project a little over a year ago, contributing to the archive by conducting interviews. I can testify that my involvement has been both immensely rewarding and unexpectedly challenging. It’s reasonable to feel pressure to do justice to someone’s legacy. Before even arriving at the interview, however, the greatest obstacle I’ve encountered has been to simply schedule a meeting.
Though some individuals firmly decline an interview, the most common response has been agreement to interview — but in a few months. These few months usually turn into several additional months, which may turn into a year or more. In many cases, this is understandable: I’ve found that the timing of my request and the career trajectory of the potential interviewee are crucial. Conservation professionals close to retirement but still working are generally difficult to pin down, while those who have just retired are in a transitional period and may have equal difficulty scheduling a meeting. A commitment to periodically following up is critical to securing an interview.
I’ve found thus far that conservators and conservation professionals generally tend to be modest individuals who would otherwise be inclined to downplay their achievements. Those who have agreed to interview seem to have done so with reluctance. It is in these instances that it is most important to advocate for the value of recording both professional and personal experiences, and to attest that a request for an interview reflects the richness of an individual’s career rather than age. Many members of the generation of conservators in question were fundamental to shaping training programs, treatment methodologies, and the field of conservation as it has emerged in its own right.
As for the interview itself, I admit that it can be a humbling experience. For one, it can be embarrassing to hear yourself on tape! Yet, on the whole, leading interviews has constituted a beneficial learning process for me. Through doing so, I’ve been developing a tangential set of skills to endeavor to employ in each interview: I research my subject thoroughly beforehand to develop meaningful questions; try to listen patiently and actively with minimal interjections; and attempt to direct the conversation organically in a way which puts the interviewee at ease. These are valuable abilities to be nurtured.
An interview I conducted last month confirmed for me how personally insightful it can be to speak with colleagues for the Oral History Project. Interviewing Ann Massing, Paintings Conservator and Assistant to the Director at the Hamilton Kerr Institute (Emeritus), provided insights into the formation and teaching philosophies of the Hamilton Kerr Institute at Cambridge University, where I am currently a Post-Graduate Intern. I was amazed to hear about how international the cohort at the Institute was from the get-go, a characteristic that is still cultivated today. I was exposed to the history of the Institute and its major players over the years, foremost being the first director Herbert Lank, whose influence has been lasting. This has enriched my understanding of working at the Institute. Through Ann’s interview, I also received a sense of how incredibly interconnected the field is, and I am grateful to her for having shared her personal history with me.
As an emerging conservator, it has been fascinating and rewarding to learn about the history of conservation through the Oral History Project. It is a unique way to discover more about institutions of interest or to become better acquainted with colleagues in your vicinity. Interviews provide a window into how the discipline has developed, as well as into current trends in the field and prevailing research questions. Speaking with such accomplished and influential professionals is a privilege, as is being an agent for preserving their memories and legacy, and I would highly recommend the experience.
If you’d like to become involved with the Oral History Project, contact Joyce Hill Stoner at jhstoner@udel.edu or visit the AIC page for more information.

AIC members can access all 2015 JAIC articles online now!

While print editions of issues 54.3 and 54.4 of JAIC have been delayed due in part to the transition to our new publisher (Taylor & Francis recently acquired Maney), AIC members can access all 7 articles online now, plus editorials and book reviews. Log into the AIC website, then visit www.conservation-us.org/jaic to get one-click access to all the latest research. Subscribers and members can expect their print issues to begin arriving in 2-4 weeks.
We are so excited about the research presented in these issues, and hope you will read through and enjoy. As always, the editorial is available as a free download to all.


Volume 54, Issue 4 (November, 2015)

EDITORIAL
Julio M. del Hoyo-Meléndez, Editor-in-Chief
AN INVESTIGATION INTO JAPINE PLATINUM PHOTOGRAPHS: WILLIAM WILLIS’S PROPRIETARY PAPER
Matthew L. Clarke, Constance Mccabe, Christopher A. Maines, Silvia A. Centeno, Lisa Barro, Anna Vila
AN EVALUATION OF SELECTED RETOUCHING MEDIA FOR ACRYLIC EMULSION PAINT
Nina L. Engel and Stefan Zumbühl
16TH- AND 17TH-CENTURY ITALIAN CHIAROSCURO WOODCUTS: INSTRUMENTAL ANALYSIS, DEGRADATION, AND CONSERVATION
Linda Stiber Morenus, Charlotte W. Eng, Naoko Takahatake, Diana C. Rambaldi


Volume 54, Issue 3 (August, 2015)

EDITORIAL
Julio M. del Hoyo-Meléndez, Editor-in-Chief
MOPA MOPA: SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS AND HISTORY OF AN UNUSUAL SOUTH AMERICAN RESIN USED BY THE INKA AND ARTISANS IN PASTO, COLOMBIA
Richard Newman, Emily Kaplan, Michele Derrick
ULTRAVIOLET-INDUCED VISIBLE FLUORESCENCE AND CHEMICAL ANALYSIS AS TOOLS FOR EXAMINING FEATHERWORK
Ellen Pearlstein, Melissa Hughs, Joy Mazurek, Kevin McGraw, Christel Pesme, Renée Riedler, Molly Gleeson
ANALYSIS OF FATTY ACIDS EXTRACTED FROM A WHALE SKELETON: ANALYTICAL APPROACH TO EVALUATE THE EFFICACY OF DEGREASING TREATMENT
Charlène Pelé, Bruno Bujoli, Élodie Guilminot, Gwenaël Lemoine, Isabelle Louvet, Laurent Poisson
ON THE PROTECTIVE NATURE OF WAX COATINGS FOR CULTURALLY SIGNIFICANT OUTDOOR METALWORKS: MICROSTRUCTURAL FLAWS, OXIDATIVE CHANGES, AND BARRIER PROPERTIES
Natasja Swartz and Tami Lasseter Clare
BOOK REVIEWS
Mary Broadway, Rebecca Anne Rushfield, Doug Severson

Call for Papers – JAIC Collection Care Special Issue

Call for Papers

JAIC Special Issue: Collection Care

JAIC coverThe Journal of American Institute of Conservation (JAIC) is seeking submissions for a “Collection Care” special issue. Collection care can be described as avoiding needless damage to collections or the systematic mitigation of risks to all strategically managed physical and intellectual values of a collection.

Papers are welcome across the full spectrum of collection care activities, from communication and advocacy to technical specifications. This edition seeks to represent the diverse acts of preventive conservation and the work of all of those with a stake in facilitating preservation and access.  The responsibility for collection care is not limited to conservators but rather is a collaborative process among allied professionals such as facility managers, curators, registrars, preparators, collection managers, security staff, archivists, exhibit designers, architects, and maintenance staff, among others, who work together to mitigate or manage collection risks. We would like this issue to consider processes that reflect this range of stakeholders, so welcome research or case study papers on topics as broad as documentation and material choices to the management of staff and the environment.

Authors are invited to submit an abstract and article outline for consideration by the special issue editors with final article submissions due April 1, 2016. Please send inquiries and submissions to Mary Coughlin at coughlin@gwu.edu.

Mary Coughlin (Collection Care Network Editor and JAIC guest editor)

Jane Henderson (JAIC guest editor)

Julio M. del Hoyo-Meléndez (JAIC Editor-in-Chief)

AIC News November issue available to members now

AIC News Vol. 40, No. 6 coverThe November issue of AIC News (Vol. 40, No. 6) is now available for AIC members. Log into the website and visit www.conservation-us.org/aicnews to gain access to the latest issue.
Articles inside the issue include the lead article, “Strategies for the Storage of Cellulose Acetate Film,” by Douglas Nishimura; membership updates; annual meeting announcements; a Health & Safety Committee guide to selecting safety shoes plus tips on gels and masks; grant announcements; and a listing of conservation training program class internships and placements (and more). Specialty Groups and Networks are very active and have provided some interesting updates for their members. Also included in AIC News is a full listing of conferences and seminars to further your career.
AIC News is a great member benefit — if you don’t already belong to AIC as a member, this is a great time to join. Read more about AIC membership in the new member portal at http://www.conservation-us.org/membership/aic-member-center.
As always, comments about the newsletter and any AIC publications can be directed to me at bnaugle@conservation-us.org.

New Collection Storage Book Seeks Cover Image

new-bookThe Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections, The American Institute for Conservation, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Museum Studies Program of George Washington University are collaborating on a new book entitled Preventive Conservation: Collection Storage.  The volume discusses all aspects of collection storage, from planning and assessment, through building design and facilities management, to storage furniture and specimen housing. It is due for publication in late 2016.
As part of the book design process, the editorial board is seeking a cover image that reflects the concept of (good) collection storage. We hope that you will contribute one or more images you feel would work well. Given the scope of the book, the image might be a photograph at the building, room, cabinet/shelf, or object level, or simply reflect a “good storage concept.”
There is no financial reward, but you and your institution will receive full acknowledgement and a free copy of the book and, of course, incredible bragging rights!  The winning image may also be used on the book website and other promotional materials.
If you’re interested in submitting an image for consideration, please send a horizontal image, at least 300 dpi, and minimum of 8 in W x 5 in H (2400 x 1500 pixels, 300 pixels/inch). JPG or TIF format preferred to Lisa Elkin (lelkin@amnh.org) or Chris Norris (christopher.norris@yale.edu) by October 31.

Apply Now for Fellowships at The Met (NYC)

Metropolitan Museum of ArtThe Metropolitan Museum of Art annually welcomes a vibrant group of graduate students, museum professionals, and senior scholars from around the world to undertake research and independent study as Metropolitan Museum fellows. The diversity of fellows’ projects reflects the historic and geographic diversity of the Museum’s collection. The community of fellows becomes immersed in the life of the Museum and takes part in a robust program of colloquia, round-table seminars, research-sharing workshops, behind-the-scenes tours, conversations with Museum staff, and tours of the collection and exhibitions. As they discuss research questions, look closely at objects, and share the experience of living in New York City, fellows form long-lasting professional relationships.
Applications open now. Please follow the link for more information.
http://www.metmuseum.org/research/internships-and-fellowships/fellowships