Special Collections Curator

Special Collections Curator

The London Library Closing date: Wed, 15 Apr 2026

Artform: Libraries
Role: Curation
Contract: Contract
London

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 "> published -

Job Summary

Bring the special collection items to life for groups and individuals, drawing on previous experience of working with rare, printed works in a library, museum or gallery setting.

Job Description

c.£43,500 per annum, plus benefits
St James's Square, London SW1

The Library holds around 70,000 older, rare, valuable, and fragile items in closed access, and is now seeking to appoint a Special Collections Curator to carry out in depth research on these items, develop a comprehensive knowledge base of information and images, and create guides, displays, and exhibitions. The role also includes delivering talks and sharing insights about the collection with members, supporters, and the wider public.

This exciting opportunity comes as the Library completes the first phase of its building programme, providing a new space for day-time engagement activities. The postholder will have excellent research and communication skills, able to bring the special collection items to life for groups and individuals, drawing on previous experience of working with rare, printed works in a library, museum or gallery setting.

About the Role
In this pivotal role, you will:
Develop new, and extend existing, research into the collection, seeking opportunities for promotion and celebration of items due to their scarcity, provenance, value or relevance to the Library's history and the wider cultural sphere
Identify items for digitisation for promotional purposes and to create surrogates to better protect the collection
Identify items for conservation
Share the collection through talks, media, guides, member and supporter events
Develop new, and extend existing, research into the collection, seeking opportunities for promotion and celebration of items due to their scarcity, provenance, value or relevance to the Library's history and the wider cultural sphere
Identify items for digitisation for promotional purposes and to create surrogates to better protect the collection
Identify items for conservation
Share the collection through talks, media, guides, member and supporter events

Job Requirements

About You
You are an enthusiastic professional with:
Degree or equivalent qualification, and a Professional qualification in Special Collections/Archives Management, Library or information management or related area or equivalent by experience
Previous special collections experience, preferably within a special collections library, gallery, or similar context
Knowledge of rare books, manuscripts and their conservation, including environmental conditions and handling
Experience of digitising items or collections, and/or working with digital images
Previous experience of cataloguing into a Library/Archives system, or similar content management system

Personal attributes include:
Experience of delivering engaging talks and presentations, ideally in a special collections/archives/museum setting
Ability to work effectively both independently and collaboratively within a team, and with excellent communication, IT and interpersonal skills

Job Overview

  • Job Title: Special Collections Curator
  • Salary: £40k-£50k
  • Hours: Full time
  • Artform: Libraries
  • Role: Curation
  • Contract: Contract
  • Closing date: Wed, 15 Apr 2026
  • Location:
    London
    | view on Google Maps

Job: Special Collections Curator

Job: Special Collections Curator

Organisation: The London Library

Postcode: SW1Y 4LG

How to Apply

The Library welcomes applications from all sectors of the community. All applicants will be considered on the basis of their merits and abilities for the post.

We can only consider candidates with the current right to work in the UK.

We reserve the right to shorten or extend the closing date of any position where a high or low volume of suitable applications are received. Therefore, if you are interested in this role, an early application is encouraged.