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Job title: Library Assistant – London Transport Museum (LTM)

Salary: £26,970 - £31,030 PA, free travel on TfL services plus benefits

Location: Albany House (St James Park) with occasional working at other LTM sites
Contract Type: Permanent

Band: 1 – LB

About London Transport Museum (LTM)

We are the world’s leading museum of urban transport and an award-winning day out. But that’s just part of our story. We are passionate. We are curious. We are adventurous.

As a heritage and education charity, we reach every primary school in the capital to fire the imaginations of tomorrow’s engineers, designers, scientists, and arts enthusiasts. With business partners and industry decision-makers, we tackle the topics that matter to London, from smart cities to green innovation.

We want to close skills gaps, redress gender imbalances and create opportunities for under-represented and disadvantaged communities.

We want to ignite curiosity to shape the future.

Overview of role

As an education and preservation charity, LTM uses the powerful link between transport and the growth of London, culture and society since 1800 to tell the story of London’s journey over the past 200 years.

The Museum Library contributes to this charitable purpose by meeting the information needs of colleagues across LTM and TfL. We also facilitate research visits and answer enquiries from the general public on diverse topics including transport, social history, art, design, and architecture. This is a new role and a rare opportunity to join a Library operating in a museum context. As Library Assistant you will help to maintain the Library collection to ensure its content is accessible to researchers and preserved for the future. You will provide crucial support working collaboratively as a member of our small and friendly Library team, gaining a range of practical experience to assist in delivering an effective Library service.

Key Accountabilities

• Working under the direction of the Librarian, liaise with LTM colleagues and suppliers to efficiently purchase Library books and equipment; manage LTM subscriptions; ensure invoices and card payments are processed promptly; and keep accurate financial records. This ensures the Museum and Library have the information resources they need to carry out their work
• Regularly check in new books and journals and chase missing copies to properly maintain the Library collection. Process items so that they are labelled accurately; packaged according to collection care guidelines; and stored in the correct place on the Library shelves.
• Working under the direction of the Librarian, use our Library Management System (Soutron) to create basic catalogue records, keep them up to date and carry out data cleaning, in order to document the collection accurately and improve information retrieval.
• To support delivery of an effective Library service, assist with the handling of routine enquiries; supervising and helping Library visitors; returning consulted items to the shelves; and assist with management of staff loans.
• Working to agreed standards of selection, scan newspapers and magazines for articles to maintain and develop our subject files of press coverage on topics relevant to our collecting policy.
• Working under the direction of the Librarian, carry out collection projects to support the long-term preservation and development of the collection. For example: tidy, clean or reorganise the collection; undertake stock audits; carry out basic preservation work; prepare material for preservation binding; or weed out items that do not meet the Library collecting policy.

Skills, Knowledge & Experience

Knowledge

• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office including Word, Excel and Outlook (essential)
• Knowledge of library management systems (e.g. Soutron) or other digital management systems (desirable)
• Knowledge of finance systems e.g. SAP Ariba (desirable)
• A demonstrable interest in history and heritage (desirable

Skills

Essential:

• Good oral and written communication skills
• Good interpersonal skills
• Good IT skills. Confident user of the Internet and Microsoft Office
• Able to enter and check data with excellent attention to detail and accuracy
• Able to handle a variety of printed materials with care and awareness of their condition
• Highly organised and able to prioritise workloads
• Able to work independently according to instructions and training
• Able to work flexibly, proactively and collaboratively as part of a team, demonstrating a commitment to the broader objectives of the Library and the Museum

Experience

• Experience of providing good customer service in a paid or voluntary capacity (essential)
• Experience of libraries either as a staff member, volunteer or library user (essential)
• Experience of managing administrative tasks (essential)
• Experience of working in a library, museum, archive or other heritage setting (desirable)

Equality, diversity, and inclusion

We are committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion. We want to represent the city we serve, which will help us become a more innovative and efficient organisation. Our goal is to make our recruitment as inclusive as possible. We are a disability confident employer who guarantee an interview to any disabled candidate who meets all of the essential criteria. We also use anonymising software that removes identifying information from CVs and cover letters to make the process fair.

Application Process

• Please apply using your CV and a one page covering letter. Word format preferred and do not include any photographs or images
• Think carefully about the skills, knowledge and experience in the advert and cover this in your CV and cover letter.

If you have any questions about this role, please send them to [email protected]

The closing date for applications is Friday 15 September 2023 @ 23:59

Benefits

In return for your commitment and expertise, you will enjoy excellent benefits and scope to grow. Rewards vary according to the business area but mostly include:

• Great pension scheme
• Free travel for you on the TfL network
• Reimbursement of 75% of the cost of a standard class Ticket for National Rail travel from home
• 30 days annual leave plus public and bank holidays
• Private healthcare discounted scheme (optional)
• Tax-efficient cycle-to-work programme
• Retail, health, leisure, and travel offers
• Discounted Eurostar travel.