Project Archival Assistant, Technical Services, Houghton Library, Cambridge MA

Posted January 8, 2014

Position Title:  Project Archival Assistant

Location:  Technical Services, Houghton Library

Normal Workweek:  16 hours/week

Pay rate:  $20.00/hour

 

Job Description: 

This position is part of a joint Houghton Library (Harvard) and Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library (Yale) project.   Working collaboratively with Houghton and Beinecke staff, the Project Archival Assistant will develop a controlled vocabulary to characterize relationships between entities (corporate bodies, persons, families) and between entities and resources (archival materials, published works, etc.) for 78 EAC-CPF (Encoded Archival Context – Corporate bodies, Persons, Families) records describing Samuel Johnson and his circle.

 

Duties of this position are:

Survey any existing Linked Data controlled vocabularies for expressing relationships and identify those with potential to inform our work.  Under the project team’s guidance, work on creating a controlled vocabulary for use in the project’s EAC-CPF data set and document decisions made by the project team as well as the reasoning behind the decisions.  Assist in expressing the vocabulary in an appropriate technical format, such as the Resource Description Framework (RDF).  Help apply the controlled vocabulary to the 78 EAC-CPF records.  Document all work and decisions to the project wiki.

 

Job Requirements:

BA highly preferred.  Enrollment in an MLS program highly desirable, particularly with archival concentration.  Knowledge and experience working with archives highly preferred.  Demonstrated knowledge of XML, Encoded Archival Description (EAD) and other metadata standards desirable.  Attention to detail, good organizational skills , problem solving ability, ability to work independently and collaboratively.  Demonstrated ability and enjoyment in writing both clear narrative text and documentation.  Excellent oral and written communication skills.  Proficiency with Windows-based applications.

 

Please note this is a temporary termed position with a scheduled end date of June 27, 2014. 

 

To apply, please send resume and cover letter to Stephen Coady, Harvard College Library HR, [email protected].  Applications will be received through 1/31/2014.