Pratt Institute, School of Information
Application Deadline: September 30, 2023 (Extended).
A top-ranked college with opportunities in art, design, architecture, liberal arts and sciences, and information studies, Pratt offers nearly 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
The Institute’s impact expands beyond its 25-acre residential campus in Brooklyn to cutting-edge facilities throughout the borough, a landmark building and public gallery in Manhattan, as well as an extension campus, PrattMWP College of Art and Design in Utica, New York. Since its founding in 1887, Pratt has prioritized diversity and inclusion, welcoming students from all walks of life while developing and sustaining pathways to more equitable workplaces and careers. The School of Information (SI) at Pratt Institute has been educating information professionals for nearly 135 years. SI, one of six schools within Pratt Institute, offers rigorous, interdisciplinary, student-centered programs at the intersection of information, knowledge, and culture. We enroll over 300 graduate students in our Masters programs in Library and Information Science, Information Experience Design, Museums and Digital Culture, and Data Analysis and Visualization. We pride ourselves on providing a vibrant and diverse community of scholars, designers, and learners committed to using information and technology to improve lives and communities. We seek a new faculty member who will help advance our mission to lead the information field, through teaching and research, in making connections with arts, culture, and technology.
Today, Pratt is committed to advancing social justice, environmental sustainability, and accessibility through our curriculum as well as increasing diversity in the ranks of our faculty, students, and staff. We seek applicants who can contribute to the furtherance of these goals as well as advancing antiracism and decolonization efforts.
Position Summary
The School of Information (SI) at Pratt Institute seeks to hire one full-time tenure-track faculty member at the assistant or associate professor level. We seek a full-time faculty who can contribute notably to our M.S. Library and Information Science program and coordinate and teach a core LIS course, INFO 652 Reference and Instruction. A notable facet of this course is that it has been partnering with the New York Public Library Correctional Services to have students address reference questions from incarcerated persons since 2013. The ideal candidate will have a passion for teaching user-centric services in libraries and other cultural institutions.
In addition to teaching and coordinating this core course, we are open to a wide range of interests from the field of Library and Information Science. Potential areas of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
Academic librarianship and scholarly communication
Connections between LIS and art, design, and architecture
Makerspaces and other emerging models of instruction in libraries
Activism and civic/community engagement (e.g., addressing book bans)
Special collections and ephemera (zines, political ephemera)
Sustainability and LIS
Engagement with users/stakeholders and UX librarianship
Data literacy and Data librarianship
Digital humanities and its relationship to LIS
Information ethics and justice
Position Responsibilities
Teach three 3-credit courses per semester (fall and spring)
Work with the School Curriculum Committee to maintain the curriculum in areas of specialization, including the possibility of developing new courses and revising existing courses.
Within the field(s) of specialization, be an active researcher able to produce a sustained record of research and publication in peer-reviewed journals and present peer-reviewed papers at conferences on a regular basis.
Serve on faculty, School, and Institute committees, participate in related school activities, and provide service to the profession.
Serve as an advisor to School of Information graduate students.
Contribute to the life of the school.
Qualifications
An earned doctorate in Information Studies, Library and Information Science, Archival Studies, or a related field is required. Candidates must also have teaching experience at the college level and demonstrated commitment to DEI. Practitioner experience is a plus but not required. Research that speaks to the needs/interests of libraries and other cultural institutions is a plus.
SALARY and RANK are commensurate with qualifications and experience.
Application Instructions
Please submit a letter of interest, curriculum vitae, statements on research and teaching, and a statement describing how you have worked to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in your career and how you would continue to do so at Pratt, and a list of names and contact information for three academic references.