Registrar and Collection Manager

Ball State University

Muncie, IN

ID: 7116024 (Ref.No. BSU34665)
Posted: November 14, 2022
Application Deadline: Open Until Filled

Job Description

Provide for the care, preservation, safety, and accessibility of the museum’s collection and associated records.

The David Owsley Museum of Art at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, welcomes applications for the full-time professional position of Registrar and Collection Manager.

Responsibilities include: manage accessions, deaccessions, and incoming and outgoing loans; assist with exhibitions and gallery installations; maintain the museum’s collections management database (EmbARK) and object files; identify conservation needs and coordinate conservation projects; supervise and train interns; and update policies and procedures related to the registration area as needed.

Job Function:

Provide for the care, preservation, safety, and accessibility of the museum’s collection and associated records.

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in art history, museum studies, or library and information studies.

Preferred Education:

Master's degree from an accredited institution in art history, museum studies, library and information studies, or related field.

Minimum Experience:

At least two years of experience with museum registration and/or collections database systems management.

Preferred Experience:

Three years of experience with registration and/or collection management; experience with collections management database systems.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Prepare and process acquisitions, long term loans, and deaccessions, including deeds of gift, loan agreements, purchase paperwork, incoming shipping, and related correspondence and files. Assist with annual Accession Committee meeting: produce agenda with attachments and minutes.
Manage, track, and maintain the EmbARK database, Web Kiosk (DOMA’s online collections site), and object files. Create and edit customized reports to assist with workflow. Train interns and staff on the database, update records and run reports as needed. Review, research, edit, and add object records to Web Kiosk.
Exhibitions: assist with management of both traveling and in-house exhibitions: generate checklists, review contracts, manage shipping, oversee and assist with unpacking, condition reporting, and installation.
Loans: manage outgoing loan requests to outside institutions, including all correspondence, loan agreements, packing and crating, insurance, condition reporting, shipping, and courier artwork when needed.
Identify conservation needs and coordinate conservation projects, working with outside conservators; generate and complete condition reports; maintain collection related insurance records and assist with claims as necessary.
Organize and maintain the museum’s art storage facilities; organize and conduct regular inventories of the collection and provide support in meeting audit requirements.
Monitor environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, light levels, Integrated Pest Management system) in galleries and storage and address any problems to prevent damage to the collection.
Develop in-depth knowledge of the museum’s works of art and assist researchers with access to the collection and related records. Oversee class viewing sessions.
Obtain non-commercial copyright for modern and contemporary objects in the collection, for digital and printed purposes, working with Artist’s Rights Society, artist estates, galleries, and other entities.
Respond to and manage image rights and reproduction requests as well as provide support in coordinating collection photography.
Supervise student assistants/interns and collaborate with professors and courses in other units, such as 450 Art Museum Theory and Practice.
Update policies and procedures related to the registration area as needed.
Contribute to and assist with the museum’s disaster plan and AAM accreditation process.
Plan, develop, write, and manage grant projects.
Perform other related duties as assigned with flexibility in scheduled work hours to include occasional weekend and after-hours assignments.

At Ball State University, we recognize inclusive excellence as an integral endeavor to fulfill our University’s mission and our strategic plan. We recruit, support, and retain a diverse population of students, faculty, and staff. We encourage and reward diversity of thought. We promote a work environment that encourages and rewards innovation and creativity. We pledge to keep Inclusive Excellence at the highest level of institutional importance and as a foundation in all that we strive to do. Our over-arching goal for Inclusive Excellence is to adopt a university-wide Inclusive Excellence approach to academic, administrative support, and service functions of the university. We believe Inclusive Excellence must be infused in every step we take.

Apply Now