Archivist for Living Composer, Waltham, MA

Posted June 29, 2022

Description:

We are seeking an intern to design and organize a digital & physical archive of four decades’ worth of professional and personal documents, images, audio and video recordings, and artifacts from the career of Tod Machover, composer, inventor, and professor at the M.I.T. Media Laboratory. The project includes establishing a system to organize and preserve ongoing work. The aims are to preserve important artistic-cultural-research-historical materials, to make it accessible so that current artists/presenters are able to mount productions and perform the work, and longer-term to donate the archive to an institution.

Information about Tod Machover’s work and career:
https://www.kirshbaumassociates.com/artist.php?id=todmachover&aview=bio
https://web.media.mit.edu/~tod/media/pdfs/Machover-Swed_Musical-America_12-15.pdf

Scope of Work

Review collection to determine best way to organize and preserve contents.
Make recommendations for best long-term hosting of digital contents.
Determine appropriate housing of the collection and help design archive room located on composer’s property.
(Re)organize collection into appropriate archival storage containers, shelving, etc. and organize the containers in the archive room.
Scan/digitize documents, audio recordings, video, etc.
Design and populate a searchable digital catalog for the collection.
Identify potential conservation issues and seek methods to resolve said issues.
Research and recommend potential future institutional homes for the collection.

Qualifications

Current MSLIS/Archival Management graduate student or recent graduate
Completion of LIS 438, LIS 440, LIS 442.
Coursework in digital stewardship, digital preservation, and/or digital asset management preferred.
Knowledge and experience in current archival best practices.
Minimum of 1 year processing archival and manuscript material.
Familiarity with music – and particularly contemporary music – is desirable, but not required.
Knowledge of – and interest in – new media technologies is an asset.
Knowledge and experience in working with collections management databases desirable.
Demonstrated knowledge of current national archival and descriptive standards and best practices, including DACS, LCSH, and LCNAF.
Excellent written and oral communication skills.
Problem solver with a positive attitude who is able to listen closely, develop solutions, and work independently.
Accuracy and attention to detail.
Knowledge and experience with handling fragile artifacts.
Ability to lift and move 40-pound boxes.

Compensation

The contract will cover approximately 320 hours of work, beginning July 2022. Flexible schedule.
The contract will pay $25 hr., not to exceed $8,000. No benefits.

How to Apply

Interested applicants should submit a cover letter, resume, and three references to [email protected]. No phone calls please. EEO