Vacancy Note: Curator for Urdu at the British Library

[Burkhard Quessel]

     THE BRITISH LIBRARY
     
     CURATOR OF SOUTH ASIAN ISLAMIC LANGUAGES ORIENTAL AND INDIA OFFICE 
     COLLECTIONS
     
     
     A vacancy exists for a Curator of South Asian Islamic Languages in the 
     South Asia Section of the British Library's Oriental and India Office 
     Collections. The Library's collections of manuscripts and printed 
     books in Urdu and the other modern Islamic languages of South Asia are 
     among the largest and most important outside the subcontinent.  The 
     manuscripts include many early Dakhni works and volumes from the 
     former Mughal Library at Delhi; the printed books are particularly 
     strong in 19th-century material due to colonial legal deposit from 
     1867 onwards.
     
     The aim of the South Asia Section is to document, develop and make 
     available the national collection of works in South Asian languages by 
     the acquisition of printed books and manuscripts, cataloguing and 
     indexing, editing and publishing material in the collections, and 
     promoting the collections for the benefit of users in the UK and 
     abroad.  Your principal duties will include: advising the Section Head 
     on matters concerning the collections and the Library's relations with 
     cultural institutions in Pakistan; the selection of current 
     research-level publications in Urdu, Panjabi, Sindhi, Kashmiri, 
     Baluchi, and other minority languages; MARC-cataloguing of new 
     acquisitions; identifying and consigning material for conservation and 
     reprography; and providing information to users, both on-site and 
     remote, about the collections and about the Islamic history and 
     culture of South Asia more generally.  You will form part of a 
     close-knit curatorial team and will be expected to undertake 
     occasional enquiry desk duties in the Oriental and India Office 
     Collections Reading Room.  You will also be expected to represent the 
     Library at external conferences and to promote the collections by 
     exhibitions and publications.
     
     You must have a degree or equivalent qualification/experience in Urdu 
     and a knowledge of the Islamic history and culture of South Asia to 
     degree level.  A knowledge of another modern South Asian Islamic 
     language, familiarity with MARC cataloguing, a qualification in 
     librarianship, and/or experience of working in a research library, 
     will all be advantages.
     
     Starting salary on appointment will be between £15,548 and £19,435 per 
     annum   depending on qualifications and experience.  Annual increases 
     thereafter will be performance related up to a maximum of £23,322 per 
     annum.
     
     For further details and an application form please telephone:  0207 
     412 7331   
     
     The closing date for the receipt of completed applications is: 10 
     December                      1999.
     
     The British Library is an Equal Opportunities Employer.