Nadia Sophie Seiler Rare Materials Residency

Nadia Sophie Seiler Rare Materials Residency

This residency honors the memory of Nadia Seiler, via the Nadia Sophie Seiler Memorial Fund, by creating professional experiences that reflect her curiosity, ambition, and interests, and it sets early career librarians on a secure path to permanent employment and leadership opportunities in the library and archives fields.

The Folger Shakespeare Library, located in Washington, DC, and the Yale Center for British Art, located in New Haven, Connecticut, are seeking an early career librarian for a one-year residency from July 2026 through May 2027. The Seiler Resident will spend July 2026 through December 2026 at the Folger Shakespeare Library (Folger) and from January 2027 through May 2027 at the Yale Center for British Art (YCBA).

This is a unique opportunity to have exposure to two cataloging-forward institutions, a variety of workflows and material types, and mentors from both institutions who can provide unparalleled support to an early career cataloger or archivist.

The Residency at the Folger Shakespeare Library focuses on cataloging approximately 350 engravings from the 18th and early 19th century. Known as the Uncatalogued Garrickiana Collection, this group of prints was going to have been Nadia Seiler’s next major project in the art collection. Even though they were acquired by Henry and Emily Folger themselves, they remained uncatalogued because a typed handlist prepared by the dealer in the 1920s was deemed better than nothing.

The Resident will be supervised by Erin Blake, Collections Management Systems Administrator and Senior Cataloger, and will be an integral part of the Collection Description Team. The Resident will become proficient in creating item‑level records according to the Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (Graphics) standard in OCLC Connexion and the Folger catalog. Working with Deborah J. Leslie, Senior Cataloger, they will learn how to revise and construct authority records and contribute them to the LC/NACO Authority file through the Name Authority Cooperative Program (NACO).

The schedule for this role is Monday‑Friday 8:45am‑4:45pm. This position will occasionally take part in library activities outside regular business hours. This position will be primarily on‑site with openness to hybrid modality. The selected candidate will need to be within a commutable distance to the D.C. office (DC, MD, VA) by their start date.

• The Resident will receive a salary of $5,800/month.
• An allowance of $2,000 to use towards housing and/or relocation expenses.
• An allowance of $5,000 for professional development courses, professional membership fees, research trips, and attendance sibilities include a course at Rare Book School or Archives
  * Records 2026.
• Total compensation also includes an extensive benefits plan with healthcare outlined at https://(Use the "Apply for this Job" box below)..

• The Resident will receive various trainings depending on their background, including basic training in printing technique identification, descriptive cataloging of prints, assignment of access points (name, genre/form, and topical), the Connexion cataloging client, and the TIND ILS.
• Participation in the Folger’s Practical Paleography sessions, learning how to read secretary hand.
• Mentorship between the Resident and various Folger Collection staff members, especially as they enter the post‑Residency job market.

• Performs complex copy and original cataloging of single-sheet prints using OCLC Connexion and the Folger’s TIND‑based local integrated system.
• Establishes and revises name headings in the LC/NACO authority file according to NACO policies and Folger procedures.
• Creates and maintains documentation of related procedures under the direction of the senior catalogers.
• Participates in peer review of cataloging.
• Performs database maintenance as directed.
• Participates in training and career development activities both within and outside the Collection Description Team.
• Supports other projects or administrative duties as assigned, including occasional desk shifts in the Reading Room.
• Present their project to…