ANNOUNCEMENT
The History Department at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County 
is seeking an accomplished curator for the Seaver Center for Western 
History Research.  This is an excellent opportunity for an energetic and 
flexible person with a strong commitment to and experience with exhibition 
content development, special collections management, public service, and 
research.

JOB DESCRIPTION
The curator will provide leadership to staff, volunteers, scholars, and 
the general public, according to professional standards and procedures.  
The curator is expected to make significant contributions to exhibitions 
and special projects; to enhance, organize, evaluate, and publicize the 
collection; and to seek and administer support through grants and other 
funding opportunities.

Major responsibilities include: 

• Active oversight of all functions involving Seaver Center 
collections such as development and elaboration of finding aids; 
coordination of electronic cataloguing; direct supervision of two 
collections managers, grant project staff, and varying numbers of 
volunteers, student workers, and interns; coordination of acquisitions; 
support of the collections through fund-raising, initiating and writing 
grant proposals, and managing grants; collaborating with the University of 
Southern California and other institutions in collection-based initiatives.

• Prominent participation in History Department and museum-wide 
activities such as strategic planning; content development for exhibitions 
and special projects in collaboration with the Public Programs Branch; 
committee and other institutional service activities and initiatives.
 
• Production of research-based publications in peer-reviewed and 
popular journals, magazines, and books based on original research, using 
the collections wherever possible; presentation of research and 
programming results at scholarly conferences; submission of proposals and 
obtaining funding to support research; publicizing the collections and 
staff accomplishments and expertise; promotion of Seaver Center's 
collections and programs through seminars, Seaver Reading Room 
exhibitions, and response to inquiries from outside researchers, staff, 
docents, and volunteers.
   
QUALIFICATIONS
PhD, or MLS, or MA in American History or equivalent, plus five years 
direct experience with historical materials in a museum, research library, 
historical society, or archives setting, preferably with supervisory or 
team leadership experience; proven knowledge of electronic cataloguing and 
collections management tools; understanding of conservation standards and 
treatments.

THE COLLECTION
The Seaver Center for Western History Research is a major component of the 
History Department.  Specializing in the history of California and the 
trans-Mississippi American West, the Seaver Center contains over 1,300,000 
historic records that include manuscript materials, books, serials, trade 
catalogues, pamphlets, broadsides, maps, posters, prints, and photographs, 
all of which are research sources and in most cases are also artifacts in 
themselves.  Another particular strength is manuscripts relating to 
Southern California, including Spanish- and English-language personal, 
business, legal, and governmental papers.  In addition, the Center 
contains reference books and monographs, history journals and magazines, 
and historic site files concerning over 850 cultural resources in Los 
Angeles County.  This material is available for use by the Museum staff, 
historians, genealogists, urban planners, filmmakers, students, and other 
researchers.

• Photographs comprise the largest and most important single 
assemblage, constituting one of the best historical photo collections 
anywhere dealing with California and the Southwest.  Over 300,000 images 
document the entire spectrum of photographic processes dating from the 
1850s, and include daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes, stereo views, 
lantern slides, glass plate negatives, and prints.  

• Manuscripts and related papers include the collections of early 
motion picture personalities, personal papers of several nineteenth-
century Californio families, Los Angeles city and county tax rolls, voter 
registers, jail registers, and incorporation records, as well as rare 
Mexican-era local government records.

• The map collection contains items from the 16th to the 20th 
centuries, and covers all parts of the world, although the strength is 
Southern California real estate, transportation, tourism and other 
materials.

• Posters, prints, and broadsides, and the ephemera collection 
contain materials relating to political campaigns, patriotic issues, 
advertising, performing arts, transportation, tourism, and development, 
and other materials of special local interest, notably the 1932 and 1984 
Olympic Games in Los Angeles and birds-eye views of Southern California 
cities.  Additional primary sources include city directories for Los 
Angeles and other communities, and original and microfilmed newspapers 
from throughout the region.

HISTORY DEPARTMENT PURPOSE AND USE
The Museum's collections of records and artifacts in U.S. History 
constitute the largest such holdings west of the Mississippi River.  The 
principal purpose for collecting and preserving these materials is for 
exhibition, for research, for loan to other institutions, and for 
publication.  Research associated with exhibitions and collections leads 
to critical and basic understanding of the past as well as revised 
interpretations of our regional and national heritage.  The History 
Collection is unique due to its diversity and wide representation of 
American history as well as for its focus on California and Southwest 
history.  No other collection in Los Angeles or in the West addresses 
national, regional, and local history; no other collection addresses the 
significance to the nation of California and the West; this is the only 
collection that interprets either U.S. or Los Angeles history 
comprehensively.

SALARY & POSITION LEVEL
The successful candidate for this position will be hired at the Curator or 
Associate Curator level, depending on qualifications.  Annual salary will 
be based on qualifications and experience.

TO APPLY
Review of applications begins as soon as they are received.  The position 
will be filled when the ideal candidate has been identified; the start 
date is July 1, 2006.  Letters of application, including a complete resume 
or C.V., and the names and contact information for three references, 
should be sent via U.S. mail to:

Janet R. Fireman                         
Curator of History                           
Natural History Museum
900 Exposition Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90007

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