Creative Arts Archivist at Houghton Library, Cambridge, MA
Posted February 4, 2022
Description:
Houghton Library, the primary repository for Harvard’s rare books and manuscripts, seeks an innovative, collaborative, and motivated Creative Arts Archivist to process collections within the Arts and Special Collections unit of the Harvard College Library, including the Fine Arts Library, the Harvard Film Archive, Houghton Library, and the Music Library. Reporting to the Lead Processing Archivist, the Archivist joins the library’s archives processing program, and works collaboratively across the Arts and Special Collections to arrange and describe archival and manuscript materials. The Archivist will develop processing plans and execute processing projects for arts-related collections. The Creative Arts Archivist will help to establish shared archival accessioning and processing practices across repositories.
Job-Specific Responsibilities:
- Processes archival and manuscript materials: rehouses materials as necessary; assesses conservation and preservation needs; determines levels of arrangement and description; creates finding aids and other descriptive metadata as necessary; and prepares materials for off-site storage at the Harvard Depository as needed.
- Provides basic collection control for legacy collections: compiles documentation and inventories, creates collection level description and accession records, addresses preservation and other housing issues.
- Acts as a liaison between donors and donor organizations and the Arts and Special Collections libraries as well as between Houghton Library and the Arts and Special Collections libraries; works to standardize accessioning and processing practices across repositories.
- Contributes to Houghton Library Public Services reference desk rotation.
- Maintains an active presence in local and national professional organizations.
- May supervise students, interns, hourly, and/or project staff.
Basic Qualifications:
- M.L.S. from an ALA-accredited academic program required, preferably with an archives concentration.
- Two years’ experience with archival arrangement and description and/or archival accessioning, preferably in an academic or research library.
- Experience with the use and application of DACS, EAD, EAC-CPF and MARC, as well as other archival content and communication standards.
- Experience describing archival audio and visual materials in keeping with applicable standards and practices.
How to apply:
For more information and to apply: