Part-time Archive Assistant, Mass. Teachers Association History Project, Quincy, MA
Posted November 21, 2023
Descriptions
The Massachusetts Teachers Association History Project is seeking a part-time assistant for six months starting in January 2024 to help identify documents and artifacts to be preserved in a university-based archive.
In 2023, the MTA launched this project to collect and share stories from the organization’s rich history. The MTA was founded in 1845 as a professional association of teachers who wanted a voice in shaping the new system of public schools – then called Common Schools – under the leadership of Horace Mann, the first secretary of education in the U.S. Today, the MTA is the largest union in Massachusetts, representing more than 117,000 public school teachers, education support professionals and public higher education faculty and staff.
Anticipated Length of Contracted Employment
We are seeking an assistant with a background in archives and library sciences to work 50 hours a month, on average, or no more than a total of 300 hours within a six-month period, beginning in January 2024, and ending by June 30, 2024. The position may be extended and/or the hours increased if future grant monies are received.
Job description
The Archive Assistant must be able to:
- Help the MTA establish protocols for identifying archive-worthy materials currently in storage.
- Provide expertise on the metadata that should be kept on materials that will either be sent to a university for archiving or be digitized.
- Assist in the sorting of materials at the MTA’s headquarters in Quincy, Mass.
Qualifications
Ideal candidates are library science/archive graduates or retired archivists looking to work part-time. Current students who have relevant coursework and experience are also invited to apply. An interest in the history of public education and/or labor unions is a plus.
The assistant must be able to move storage boxes and do the physical work of sorting through materials, as well as being proficient in using a computer for entering data in a spreadsheet.
Schedule and compensation:
This is a grant-funded position under the direction of Laura Barrett, a former MTA staff member and current MTA History Project Manager. The pay is $32 per hour, with no benefits. The work schedule is flexible and will be determined monthly with the project manager.
Location:
The MTA is located at 2 Heritage Drive in Quincy. There is ample parking at that location. In addition, the office is a 12-minute walk from the Red Line’s North Quincy MBTA stop.
To Apply
Application deadline: Dec. 12, 2023. Please submit a resume and cover letter with your application to [email protected].