Archivist, Lowell Historical Society, Lowell, MA

Posted May 31, 2018

The Lowell Historical Society is seeking a professional archivist with knowledge and experience to analyze our collections, creating a thorough inventory of all documents, photographs, media, artwork, artifacts and other items, stored in various locations with the assistance of LHS board members/volunteers; create a process and controlled vocabulary for the collection, advise on preservation steps, identify items in danger, and create a conservation log; assist in identifying less relevant items for deaccessioning; and provide basic training and a instructional guide for LHS board members to continue to maintain the collection going forward.

This contract position will require the selected individual to provide the following deliverables:

• Collection plan to streamline and unify current inventories into Past Perfect with controlled vocabularies and organized collection identifiers and ensure all supporting documentation (gifts of deed, inventories, or finding aid) are linked/available digitally.
• Create a system of work for LHS board members and volunteers to move analog/paper item accession records into PastPerfect and evaluate information being entered
• Assess the current condition of the entire LHS collection (manuscripts, artifacts, images, artwork, and books) and identify issues with item identification, preservation, provenance, and relevance to LHS mission
• Create training manuals and instruction guides for workflow going forward and analyze current organization materials (i.e. finding aids, etc.) and suggest change/upgrades and/or possible templates. 

If funding and time allow, this professional will assist in additional projects to make the collection available digitally.

A bachelor’s degree and 1-2 years archives experience or the equivalent combination of education and experience are required. This will be a contract-type position, which will have some flexibility in hours per week, but will mainly operate within the time frame of Monday – Friday, 9 am – 5 pm. Project work should be completed by October 31, 2018. The anticipated hourly rate is $20-$25/hr of which the professional is expected to complete between 400-500 hours, based on the agreed upon hourly rate. This contracted position offers no benefits.

Education

BA/BS

Salary

$20-$25/hr

How to Apply

Please submit cover letter and resume to [email protected] for consideration.