Roving Archivist, Massachusetts State Historical Records Advisory Board, Boston MA
Posted September 13, 2013
The Massachusetts State Historical Records Advisory Board (SHRAB) seeks to hire a trained archivist for a one-year, half-time position to provide advice, consultation, and processing assistance to successful applicants in the Massachusetts SHRAB Roving Archivist program. Each institution which is selected by the Massachusetts SHRAB will receive assistance from the archivist in accordance with its application category.
A successful applicant for the position of Roving Archivist will possess a number of specific qualifications. These will include:
Required Qualifications:
. Masters degree in Library/Information/Archives Science from an ALA accredited school or equivalent
. Minimum of 3-5 years experience in the archives profession
. Strong verbal and written communication and listening skills
. Experience consulting
. Demonstrated knowledge of public and non-public records issues
. Experience working with electronic records as well as traditional physical records
. Own or have access to a car and have a valid driver’s license
Desired qualifications:
. Experience setting up archives
. Knowledge of Massachusetts repositories
. Experience working with historical societies
Services will be awarded in one of the following two categories:
Category 1: Strategic Assessment of the institution: The Roving Archivist will spend between ½ and 1 day with key members of the institution, including the Director or Chair of the Board (for small historical societies). S/he will have a conversation with the group about basic components of running an archives such as the importance of collection policies and disaster planning and then review the condition of the collections. The Roving Archivist will then complete a report of recommendations and a list of resources customized to the needs of the institution. The report process should be completed in ½ day.
Category 2: Program Review: The second category will include a 2 day site visit with 1 day allocated to completing the report. Applicants will be required to have policies for management and processes for arrangement and description in place, and the role of the Roving Archivist will be to evaluate these processes and make suggestion for efficiencies and effectiveness. S/He will meet with staff/volunteers, including leadership, to understand the program, although this should not be viewed as a hands-on training session. The Roving Archivist will complete a report that evaluates the current program, makes recommendations for improvements and efficiencies, and provides a customized list of resources for further education, supplies, and funding.
Category Three: Arrangement and Description: This category of assistance will provide for the arrangement and description of collections held by small and medium sized institutions. As part of this process, the Roving Archivist will provide rudimentary training to the staffs of the participating institutions in the basics of archival processing, policy and procedure development, preservation steps, and disaster planning. While processing rates vary greatly from collection to collection, the Roving Archivist will employ available More Product, Less Process (MPLP) techniques to allow for relatively streamlined processing of materials with an average rate of about 3 hours per linear foot.
Additional Duties:The applicant will also be expected to promote regrant program and oversee applications as well as assist with planning and execution of annual forum and workshop series.
Compensation: This is a one-year, half-time position for which the successful applicant will receive $20,000 plus travel reimbursement.
Applicants should submit a resume and 3 references, including one related to consulting work, electronically to
Massachusetts SHRAB, c/o Jack Warner, Coordinator and State Archivist [email protected]
Deadline for applications is October 15, 2013.
Please direct any questions to John Warner at (617) 727-2816.