Archivist, Loretto Heritage Center Archives and Museum, Nerinx, KY

Posted January 2, 2017

Full-time Archivist, with competitive salary and benefits
Starting as soon as February, 2017
Sisters of Loretto Heritage Center, rural Marion County, Kentucky

Loretto Heritage Center Archives and Museum seeks a professionally trained archivist with well-honed skills across the full spectrum of archival functions.   Beginning as Archivist under the Heritage Center Director, the successful candidate will have opportunity and encouragement to transition to full responsibility for the Archives by successfully meeting a wide range of archival challenges.

The Loretto Heritage Center, located in central Kentucky’s historic Catholic “Holy Land,” preserves and exhibits the documentary legacy of the Sisters of Loretto, a pioneering community of American Catholic sisters unique among American religious traditions.   The Loretto collections date from 1812, when three frontier women established a school and then a religious community among the first generation of Maryland settlers in Kentucky.  Since the 1890s the collections have been under the professional management of sister-archivists at the Loretto Motherhouse on an 800-acre farm in rural Marion County, Kentucky.

The Loretto Heritage Center archives document Loretto’s commitment to meet the needs of the times in diverse circumstances around the world. The Archivist will have major responsibility for managing the manuscript and photograph collections which span Loretto’s 200-year history of education and social justice advocacy. 

The Loretto Community’s primary documents are organized in record groups which represent both the institutional and the personnel facets of the Sisters of Loretto.  Since 2012 archival staff, interns and volunteers have begun to describe and catalogue the collections into a new digital catalogue designed by the current Director.  The Archivist will assume responsibility for the digital description and cataloguing of the collections.  With the Director, the Archivist will train interns to assist with the digital cataloguing. 

In 2012 the Loretto Heritage Center moved into a newly designed space, including new stacks and a professionally designed, award-winning museum. The Archivist will share in duties as docent for the museum and will facilitate the use of archival holdings in the continuing development of exhibits and public programming for the region. 

The Loretto Heritage Center Archives collaborates with the Kentucky Historical Society to make public the oral histories of individual Loretto members, documenting their contributions to the peace and justice movements of the latter half of the 20th century.  The Archivist will assume responsibility for maintaining and adding to this oral history collection, making use of its recordings in appropriate venues, collecting and processing the personal papers of the individuals interviewed.

Basic education and experience requirements: 

•  Masters degree or equivalent in Public History, Archival Studies, Library Science;
•  Internships in relevant areas of archival practice and history or employment experiences in these areas with strong professional supervision; minimum of three years relevant experience;

Also required:

•  Understanding of events and issues of the 19th and 20th centuries sufficient to contribute appropriate historical perspective and intellectual leadership to the collections of the Heritage Center;
• Excellent oral and written communication, and analytical skills;  
• Full command of Microsoft Office applications, and the knowledge or ability to rapidly acquire functional skill using Apple computers, databases created with Filemaker Pro, and software for editing photos and creating brochures;
• Current knowledge and ability to move forward with such digital challenges as cloud-based filing, retention and preservation of born-digital documents, digitization options, techniques, and tools;
• Ability to comfortably interact with people from all kinds of backgrounds;  ability to receive supervision and work collaboratively with others;  ability to regularly lift 40 lb. boxes.

The Archivist will report to the current Director and through her to the elected leaders of the Loretto Community.

Along with competitive base salary and benefits, there is potential for advancement to the position of Heritage Center Director.

For consideration and for further position details, please send cover letter addressing experience and interest, detailed resume and contact information for three references to Sister Eleanor Craig, [email protected]   

Applications will be considered beginning January 15, 2017; although a deadline of February 10, 2017 is posted, the search will continue until a suitable candidate is found.