NACIRA

IESNational Committee for Information Resources on Asia

Please note: our 2025 annual conference and AGM will take place in Spring 2026. 

Our last conference took place on 6 Dec. 2024: Heavens Above and Knowledge Below: Resources for Asian Earth and Planetary Science

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We support librarians, archivists and researchers involved in the collection, development and use of library resources and services for Asian and Middle Eastern studies.

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BREAKING NEWS

Hamish Todd, former Head of East Asian Collections, British library, was conferred by the Government of Japan one of Japan's prestigious national honours - The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays (旭日双光章) - “for his contributions to introducing Japanese culture to the United Kingdom and promoting understanding of Japan in the United Kingdom.”   

This national honour is one of the six classes of the Order of the Rising Sun, a Japanese order of merit. It is awarded to individuals who have made distinguished contributions to the nation or the public, and it may also be conferred upon non-Japanese nationals.   

Heartfelt congratulations, Hamish!

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VACANCIES

Lead Curator East Asian Collections

The British Library, London

About the role

The British Library holds an outstanding collection of heritage and contemporary material from and relating to Japan and Korea, including manuscripts, printed books, journals, newspapers, prints and other items, from early written records to contemporary materials.

We are now recruiting for the post of Lead Curator, East Asian Collections to develop, manage, promote and make accessible the Library’s collections in Japanese and Korean and to lead the associated staff.

The post-holder will be responsible for projects and activities relating to these collections and will take a leading role in developing future major programs and partnerships, working collaboratively within the Asian and African Collections department, across the Library and with external partners. They will work with the Head of East Asian Collections and with the East Asian Collections team in exploring new ways of interpreting, promoting and making accessible the collections through a range of activities, including documentation and digitisation projects, research, culture and public engagement events and exhibitions.

This is an exciting opportunity for candidates with a strong professional or research profile in an area or language/s relevant to Japanese or Korean collections, combined with proven expertise in managing heritage and contemporary collections in a library, archive or museum setting. We are looking for experience in successfully managing people, resources and projects, as well as in developing collaborative relationships with international partners. Excellent communication and organisational skills are essential to this post, as well as a passion for sharing expert knowledge and engage with diverse users and audiences.

 Location: St Pancras                            Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full time (36 hours)                    Grade: A

Salary: £42,179 per annum

Closing date: 30 November 2025

Proposed Interview Dates: 11 & 12 December 2025

For more details, please see here.

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Curator Tibetan Collections

The British Library, London

About the role 

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Curator of Tibetan Collections to join a team of specialist curators in the Asian and African Collections Department at the British Library.    

The British Library holds a culturally and historically significant collection of printed books and manuscripts in Tibetan. The collections include some of the earliest surviving manuscripts in Old Tibetan, rare and unique works that are part of the Tibetan Buddhist canon and official letters and documents, for example from the Dalai and Panchen Lamas. 

The role involves working with manuscripts and printed material in the major languages covered in the Tibetan collections: Tibetan both Classical and Modern (including Amdo and Khams variants). Additionally, the role has responsibility for material in Old Tibetan and for languages that are part of the Sino-Tibetan or Trans-Himalayan language family.  

The successful post-holder will be responsible for developing, managing and making accessible the Tibetan collections at the British Library. They will also be responsible for exploring innovative ways of presenting, interpreting and promoting the collections through engagement activities with diverse communities, academic and general audiences, as well as through contributions to online resources, documentation, digitisation projects, research, cultural programmes and media. 

The Curator of Tibetan Collections will also make a personal contribution to Tibetan studies based on individual specialist knowledge of the Tibetan collections. The post-holder will have a good working knowledge of both Classical and Modern Tibetan and a degree level qualification in a discipline of central relevance for the Tibetan collections.   

Knowledge of Old Tibetan and other Sino-Tibetan/Trans-Himalayan languages would be useful, and further to these languages, it would be an advantage to have had experience of working in a research library, academic or other relevant environment.  

Location: St Pancras Contract: Permanent 

Hours: Full time (36 hours)  Grade: B

Salary: £34,608 per annum  

Closing date: 4 January 2026 Interview date: 16 January 2026

For more details, please see here.