Jewish Cultural Reconstruction (JCR) Project Coordinator

Job Summary

Towson University (TU) is one of the nation's top 100 public universities. Located north of Baltimore, TU currently enrolls more than 19,000 students and is the second-largest university in the prestigious University System of Maryland. Towson University values diversity and fosters a climate that is grounded in respect and inclusion to cultivate the intellectual and personal growth of the entire university community.

The Jewish Cultural Reconstruction (JCR) Project Coordinator will join the Cook Library project team dedicated to bringing awareness to and intentionally reuniting the approximately 160,000 JCR books distributed across the U.S. The project coordinator is funded for three years by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) National Leadership grant LG-256715-OLS-24 to work part-time on this project. The project is in partnership with Towson University, Brandeis University, Yeshiva University, the Jewish Theological Seminary, and University of Denver.

Responsibilities and Duties

During World War II, the Nazis planned a cultural holocaust to accompany the physical destruction of European Jews. Millions of pieces of European Jewish Cultural heritage were seized by German soldiers, and as Allied forces moved across Europe at the end of the war, they discovered massive storehouses of books, periodicals, and ritual objects. Much of this material passed through the Offenbach Archival Depot, a clearinghouse established by the U. S. Army to identify and restore these cultural artifacts to their rightful homes. However, because of the enormous loss of life and lack of marks of ownership, half a million items remained without heirs. The Jewish Cultural Reconstruction (JCR), Inc., an organization founded in 1947 to collect and distribute heirless Jewish Property after the war.

The Jewish Cultural Reconstruction (JCR) Project Coordinator will join the Cook Library project team dedicated to bringing awareness to and intentionally reuniting the approximately 160,000 JCR books distributed across the U.S. The project coordinator is funded for three years by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) National Leadership grant LG-256715-OLS-24 to work part-time on this project. The project is in partnership with Towson University, Brandeis University, Yeshiva University, the Jewish Theological Seminary, and University of Denver.

The project coordinator will assist with the following duties:

• Working with co-PIs at Towson University and Brandeis University to plan and confirm dates, update schedules, and the project timelines as needed, and manage communication for the project. This includes setting up timelines in project management software Asana and tracking progress on each of the tasks for various milestones.
• Surveying subawardee institutions (Yeshiva University, the Jewish Theological Seminary, and the University of Denver) regarding which catalogs and systems they use to manage collections. Outreach to Jewish cultural databases to determine if partnerships may be possible for a JCR shared catalog. Assessing the various options for catalogs, systems, and cultural databases in partnership with co-PIs from Towson University and Brandeis University. Develop a technological strategy for the shared catalog in collaboration with co-PIs including technical requirements for digitization of any markings, digital preservation plans, software evaluation, and plans for sustainability. Document plans and procedures for future partner loads into the shared catalog.
• Correspond with subawardee institutions to provide support on how to locate their books and update catalog records. Update best practice documents with improvements and clarifications.
• Contribute to refining a toolkit that will assist other institutions with JCR books to identify, catalog, and digitize critical pieces of these significant works. Specific responsibilities will include conducting archival research into JCR shipments received by U.S. institutions, conducting an inventory of the JCR books held by Towson University, and helping to develop an initial draft of the toolkit.

Qualifications and Skills

• Bachelors degree
• Two years experience in administrative staff work.
• Demonstrated understanding of the value and importance of the use of primary sources in research and education.
• Strong attention to detail; analytical skills with a demonstrated ability to synthesize information into a broad context.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work independently as well as collaboratively with other team members.

Except for qualifications established by law, additional related experience and formal education in which one has gained the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for full performance of the work of the job class may be substituted for the education or experience requirement on a year-for-year basis with 30 college credits being equivalent to one year of experience.

Salary and Benefits

$23.08/hr. and a contract that offers annual leave, holidays, sick days and tuition remission. Contractual employees scheduled to work 30 or more hours per week may be eligible for subsidized health benefits coverage. To learn more about our benefits, click here . TU also offers a variety of great perks and discounts, which can be found here .

If you are motivated, innovative and team-oriented, we would love to hear from you.

For consideration, please submit a cover letter and resume with your online application.

This position will be open for a minimum of 14 days.

The safety of our students, faculty, staff, and neighbors has been our top priority and the focus of every one of our decisions since the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the University System of Maryland (USM) has strongly encouraged full COVID vaccination and up-to-date booster shots (when eligible) for all faculty, staff, and students at all schools in the USM as both a reasonable and necessary means of protecting our health and safety.