Project Archivist (term-limited, 24 months), Historic New England, Haverhill, MA

Posted February 16, 2024

Project Archivist (term-limited, 24 months) Historic New England seeks a full-time Project Archivist for a 24-month term-limited position. Detail oriented with experienced knowledge of MARC cataloguing practices, the Project Archivist works with project staff cataloguing a collection of 125,000 glass-plate and film negatives for Capturing New England: Digitizing Historic New England’s Negative Collection, a two-year project funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Sciences.

Classification: Full-time; Non-exempt/hourly; Term-limited 24 months
Location: Haverhill, Massachusetts, New England residency required
Key Roles and Responsibilities:

Creates collection-level cataloguing entries for the 125,000 glass-plate and film negatives and a DACS-compliant (Describing Archives: A Content Standard, secondedition) finding aid to the collection in MINISIS, the searchable and publicly accessible online content management system.
Creates a MARC record that is discoverable through OCLC’s WorldCat and ArchivesGrid repositories.
With the senior curator of Library and Archives, oversees the work of volunteers on the
project.
Works with the project photographer and other members of the project team to review each digital image and metadata combination conducting a final check for image quality, metadata completeness, and that the two elements are properly matched.
Writes for Historic New England publications online and in print.
Participates in activities of professional organizations such as the New England Archivists and the Society of American Archivists.
Other duties as assigned.

Skills and Qualifications:

ALA-accredited master’s degree in library and information Science or Archival program, or a master’s in history, Architectural History, Art History, or Museum Studies, and at least two years of job-related experience. or equivalent combination of skilled credentials.
Experience arranging and describing manuscript / archival collections and creating finding aids according to archival best practices. The candidate must have solid knowledge of MARC cataloguing practices, Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS), Encoded Archival Description (EAD), and controlled vocabularies such as AAT, TGN, LCSH, and LCNAF.
Experience with archival and digital asset management systems. The candidate must be fully competent in the use of computerized collections management systems, such as MINISIS, ArchivesSpace, or Re:Discovery.
Experience with digitization workflow, preservation, and metadata practices and standards.
Familiarity with standard collections care, archives and museum practices, and best practices for object handling, including glass-plate and film negatives.
High degree of attention to detail and an ability to work independently to effectively manage time, and projects, and meet to deadlines.
Ability to operate effectively in a team environment, where communications within and among teams is essential to success. Ability to interact and communicate with staff orally and in writing is essential. Must have experience and ability working directly with the public.
Excellent computer and data entry skills and skills in the use of Microsoft Office suite; share drive applications, including Dropbox. Must have excellent writing skills.
Commitment to the values of diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion. Compensation: $25.00 hourly plus benefits

To Apply: Please submit résumé and cover letter, with position title and your name included
in the subject line, to [email protected].
Historic New England is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer with a strong
commitment to supporting equality of opportunity and respect for diversity. We are
committed to providing equal opportunity in employment to all qualified persons without
regard to non-work-related factors such as race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, national
origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation.