Processing Archivist Job at Northeastern University
About the Opportunity
Northeastern University Library seeks an engaged, service-oriented, and collaborative professional to join the University Archives and Special Collections team (UASC) as a Processing Archivist ($49,050-$76,030). Reporting to the Collections Archivist, this position will be responsible for arranging and describing our collections with sensitivity and empathy. The position will supervise several part-time staff engaged in similar work, and is also responsible for managing specific collections.
The Processing Archivist role is right for someone with a true passion for providing equitable access to archival collections, facilitating clear and welcoming research experiences, and collaboratively assessing and establishing clear workflows.
Specific Responsibilities
The Processing Archivist will assist the Collections Archivist in managing and providing access to UASC collections by focusing their efforts on arrangement and description activities, and by supervising part-time staff engaged in similar work. The Project Archivist will conduct background research on the persons and organizations related to each collection, and survey the materials to develop processing plans and preservation recommendations as needed. They will arrange and describe materials according to the processing plans as approved by the Collections Archivist, and perform basic preservation work such as fastener removal, unfolding and flattening materials, and rehousing in acid-free folders and boxes. They will write comprehensive finding aids to describe the records creators and subjects, and provide detailed box and folder inventories using ArchivesSpace.
Other responsibilities include identifying records that are candidates for digitization, and to liaise with the Digital Production Services to support those efforts. The Processing Archivist will also work with the Reference and Outreach Archivist to identify and curate titles for use in the Teaching with Archives program’s rare book instruction. They will also assist the Collections Archivist to focus the collection scope and weed as necessary.
We invite people with various skills and levels of expertise to apply to this position. Candidates who meet some, but not all, of the requirements listed below are also encouraged to apply. We also seek colleagues who are committed to building an inclusive and diverse working environment and who have been and remain underrepresented or marginalized in the field of librarianship - including but not limited to people of color, LGBTQ+ people, individuals with disabilities and applicants from lower-income and first-generation library or academic backgrounds.
Minimum Qualifications:
- Master’s degree in Library and Information Science or allied field
- Experience preserving, arranging, and describing archival collections
- Ability to synthesize and summarize information in clear and concise language for use in collection description
- Knowledge of archival best practices and standards such as DACS, EAD, and MODS
- Experience supervising student employees
- Ability to collaborate and communicate in a team environment
- Interest in or knowledge of the ways minoritized groups have been marginalized or removed from the historic record through archival description and metadata creation
- Commitment to professional growth in regards to current discussions around archives, cultural heritage, and public history
- Ability to routinely lift 40 lbs. boxes
Preferred Qualifications:
- Master’s degree in the field of Library or Information Science with focus on archival studies
- Experience with Alma, ArchivesSpace, Archive-It, and Preservica
- Experience with data management software such as and Excel and OpenRefine
- Interest in or knowledge of best practices for processing born-digital collections
- Knowledge of Boston history
- Reading proficiency in Spanish and Mandarin
About the Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections and the Library
The Northeastern University Library supports the mission of the University by working in partnership with the University community to develop and disseminate new scholarship. The Library fosters intellectual and professional growth, enriches the research, teaching, and learning environment, and promotes the effective use of knowledge by managing and delivering information resources and services to library users.
In addition to University history, the University Archives and Special Collections (UASC) at the Northeastern University Library houses and carefully curates a diverse and growing collection of historical records about Boston. One major focus is to preserve and provide equitable access to the history of Boston’s social movements, including civil and political rights, immigrant rights, homelessness, and urban and environmental justice. To that end, our work is community-focused, rooted in critical theory, and extremely collaborative—including city-wide civic participation, inter-archival digital collection building, partnering with grassroots organizations and activists, and liaising with our user communities—on campus and off. Our services’ mission is to provide access to all that is equitable, empathetic, and full of ease regardless of location or affiliation.
The University Archives and Special Collections is excited to be growing their team to continue to support their central mission of equitable access both through archival description and processing as well as reference, outreach, and instruction services.
Position Type
Library
Additional Information
Northeastern University is an equal opportunity employer, seeking to recruit and support a broadly diverse community of faculty and staff. Northeastern values and celebrates diversity in all its forms and strives to foster an inclusive culture built on respect that affirms inter-group relations and builds cohesion.
All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
To learn more about Northeastern University’s commitment and support of diversity and inclusion, please see
www.northeastern.edu/diversity
.
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