Curator North American Published Collections (Maternity Cover)

Location: St Pancras
Contract: Fixed term for 10 months (maternity cover)
Hours: Part time (FTE 0.6 - 21.6 hours)
Grade: B
Salary: £34,608 pro rata per annum

About the role
This is an exciting opportunity to work with one of the world's major collections of library materials from the Americas.

The Eccles Institute curates the British Library's collections from the Americas and Oceania, and supports creative research and cross-cultural conversation about these regions. As a curator in the Institute, you will be responsible for developing and managing the Library's contemporary collections from the Americas, with a particular focus on North America.

Working closely with colleagues in the Institute, you will facilitate research for the academic community and develop collaborative research projects, participate in the Library's cultural programme by curating exhibitions and contributing to the events programme, and develop content for our website for a range of audiences. The department has a particular focus on printed and digital materials from the mid-19th to 21st centuries, but you will also work across earlier historical periods and formats in collaboration with colleagues in other departments.

You will need to have an interest in and understanding of the history and cultures of North America, its literary heritage and contemporary culture, supported by a record of academic publication or public engagement. You will have a thorough understanding of the needs of researchers working with printed and digital resources relating to North America, experience of working in a research library or a similar institution, and an ability to interpret specialist subjects to a general audience. The ability to work methodically and with good attention to detail is essential for this role.

For further information, please refer to the Job Profile.

About us
We are the national library of the UK and we are here for everyone. Our shelves hold over 170 million items in a living collection that gets bigger every day. Although our roots extend back centuries, we aim to collect everything published in the UK today, tomorrow and far into the future. Our trusted experts care for this collection and open it up for everyone to spark new discoveries, ideas and to help people do incredible things.

What we can offer you
- A competitive salary.
- A fantastic pension scheme with minimum employer contributions of 28.97% (this may be higher dependent on grade).
- Flexible working hours, with the ability to take up to 5 days flexi leave in a 3-month period.
- 25 days holiday
- Full details of employee benefits can be found on our Careers: Benefits page.

Closing date: 31 August 2025
Interview dates: 24 September 2025

If you have any questions, please contact: [email protected]

We are unable to provide sponsorship under the UK Skilled Worker visa for this role.

We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian, Mixed Race and other ethnically diverse candidates and disabled candidates. We would like to increase the representation of these groups within The British Library to ensure our workforce is as diverse as the public that we serve. Creating an inclusive workplace is the core of our business and a way to engage the diversity of thought that is essential to achieve our aims.

Museum Website: https://ce0752li.webitrent.com/ce0752li_webrecruitment/wrd/run/ETREC179GF.open?WVID=5071482BMD