Employment Opportunities

Curator of Collections

The Old York Historical Society, doing business as the Museums of Old York, is at a watershed moment. From its 1896 founding as a volunteer effort to promote beautification and preservation, Old York evolved into a complex organization. It now stewards ten historic museum buildings on six sites with an outstanding collection of 26,000 objects, and operates a research library and an art gallery. Old York offers the public a diverse array of tours and educational programs. The museum’s second century is underway with a nearly completed $2.8 million capital campaign and a new, fully accessible facility featuring visitor amenities and ample spaces for programs and exhibitions. Old York is poised to meet the profound challenges facing historical museums today by building deeper ties to the community we serve and making vital contributions to the quality of life of its residents and visitors.

The successful candidate for Curator will have the expected strong foundation in material culture and museum practices, plus:

a strong commitment to education and audience development.
skills as a team member
enthusiasm for collaboration with other staff, volunteers, members, and audiences in exhibition and program development
ability and willingness to facilitate others’ exploration and interpretation of their heritage and to share all phases of curatorial work.

Responsibilities

The Curator has general oversight of the Society’s accessioned collections, including historic museum buildings, artifacts, and items on paper. The Curator ensures that collections are documented, organized, and cared for, seeking the highest standards of the history museum field, so they may be employed as educational resources for the benefit of the public. Specifically, the Curator…

Routinely evaluates and seeks improvements in storage and exhibition environments for all museum collections.

Provides the Collections Committee with information and expertise on material culture and museum practices. Proposes to them for recommendation to the board collections plans that reflect the mission of the organization and its educational goals. Recommends to the Collections Committee accessions and deaccessions in fulfillment of the museum’s plans and policies.

Conducts research and facilitates others’ research related to the Society’s collections in service of the Society’s exhibitions and publications.

Strives to attract, understand, and respond to new audiences in order to build deeper connections to Old York’s community.

Plays a principal role in developing exhibitions in collaboration with other staff, any consultants, audience members, and volunteers.

Supervises the Registrar.

Oversees development of long-range maintenance and conservation plans for the Society’s historic buildings, working with the Buildings and Grounds Supervisor, consultants, and volunteers as needed. Develops and proposes to the Executive Director annual plans in fulfillment of the long-range plans.

Supervises the Buildings and Grounds Supervisor’s work on historic buildings and landscapes.

Plays a principal role developing and executing interpretation plans for the Society’s historic museum buildings.

Supervises the Librarian/Archivist’s management of the library.

Advises and collaborates with education staff in development and improvement of programs for all ages.

Writes occasional articles for Society publications and representing and promoting the Society and its collections in other publications

Participates as a speaker in on- and off-site programs in cooperation with the Education Department.

Participates in the administration of the Elizabeth Perkins Fellowship Program

Works to develop innovative ways to engage and interact with diverse audiences through interpretation of the Society’s sites and collections.

Performs other duties as may be assigned by the Executive Director.

The position of Curator is full-time, with compensation that includes a competitive salary, health and dental insurance, and paid vacation. The Curator reports directly to the Executive Director. All employment at Old York is at will. Old York is an equal opportunity employer.

Anyone wishing to apply should send a letter of interest and attach a resume by email to director@oldyork.org. Electronic submissions only.

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The 2008 Elizabeth Bishop Perkins Fellowship in Museum Practice and Research

WHAT: An intensive twelve-week fellowship in research and museum practice. Fellows will receive a $2,700 stipend and will be given free riverfront housing for the duration of the program. Fellows' research is presented at an annual symposium in August. Fellows take part in regular staff meetings, educational opportunities, career networking and planned field trips to other New England museums.

WHEN: Successful applicants arrive for introductory training on Tuesday, May 27, 2008. The Fellowship Symposium will take place on Monday, August 18, 2008.

WHERE: The Fellowship is centered at Old York, in York, Maine, on the southern Maine coast approximately one hour north of Boston. Old York is within close proximity to major collections and research resources in New England.

WHY: This program, now in its twenty-first year, was founded to provide students interested in establishing careers in museums and cultural or academic organizations with the opportunity to gain and apply skills, conduct meaningful research, and present it in a public forum. In addition, Fellows serve as part-time educational interpreters for Old York's nine historic buildings open to the public.

WHO: The Fellowship is open to graduate and senior level undergraduate students pursuing museum, preservation or academic careers. Selection is very competitive, with four Fellowships awarded each year. Academic credit may be arranged.

The 2008 Fellowship Program

Under the supervision of the Education and Curatorial Departments of the museum, the 2008 Elizabeth Bishop Perkins Fellowship will focus on two projects that offer practical experience in planning exhibitions in the Remick Barn, our new education and exhibition center opening in 2008, and the Ramsdell House, a small historic house that was once a farm laborer's home. Fellows will incorporate the results of visitors' surveys into the design of both orientation exhibits.

The new education and exhibition center is adapted from and 1834 barn from Eliot, Maine. The new facility offers a tremendous opportunity to develop an exhibit to tell the story of York and orient visitors to the museum.
The Ramsdell House is a rare surviving farm laborer's home consisting of mid-eighteenth century components moved to the site in the first quarter of the nineteenth century. A 1940s addition to the house will be turned into an orientation room.

The finished product for each of these projects will be presented at a public symposium on Monday, August 18, 2008.

How to Apply

The selection committee bases its decisions on a completed application, essay, two letters of recommendation from faculty or professional references, and a telephone interview. Applicants are not required to be enrolled at an academic institution at the time of their admission to the Fellowship program. Also, since the Fellowship aims to expose young professionals to museum work, previous experience in museums is not required, but does demonstrate a strong interest in the field.

Applications must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, March 3, 2008. Acceptance of fellowship awards will be communicated by April 14, 2008. We regret that we are unable to consider late or incomplete applications.

Applications can also be downloaded by clicking here. If you have questions or are unable to download the application, please email Anne Poubeau at education@oldyork.org.

Fellowship Alumni

The Fellowship program has over seventy alumni who live and work in the United States, Canada and Europe. Over 95 percent of past Fellows work in museums and other cultural organizations, including Historic Deerfield, the Smithsonian Institution, McCord Museum of Canadian History, New Haven Colony Historical Society, University of Glasgow, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, the Getty Foundaiton, Canterbury Shaker Village, Mystic Seaport, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Tate House Museum, Maine Historical Society, Historic Jamestown Foundation, the University of Washington at Tacoma, Carl Sandburg National Historic Site, the Southern Association for Women Historians, the New York State Council on the Arts, Maine Historic Preservation Commission, Massachusetts Historical Commission, Eastern Shore Land Conservancy, Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum, and the Mashantucket Pequot Museum. Anne Poubeau, our Education Director, and Cindi Young-Gomes, our Registrar, are also alumni from the fellowship program.

Old York

Located on the southern coast of Maine, Old York is one of the largest historical museums in Maine. Maintaining nine historic museum buildings and a large and significant collection of objects, artifacts, and fine and decorative arts associated with the development of southern Maine from pre-history through the twentieth century, it is noted regionally for its particular strength in colonial period collections. With roots stretching back to 1896 and the opening of its first museum in 1900, Old York is also recognized as one of the earliest collecting institutions in New England.