Archivist - University of Puget Sound

Northwest Archivists; Washington; On-site; USD 31,753 - 33,751; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

Paid time off

Employee Assistance Program

Retirement plan options

Tuition benefits for employees and families

Job summary

A university's Archives & Special Collections department in Tacoma, WA is seeking an Archives Assistant to process archival materials and provide reference services. The role includes supervising students and participating in outreach efforts. A graduate degree in Library and Information Science or equivalent experience is required, along with strong customer service skills. Competitive hourly pay and a comprehensive benefits package are offered.

Qualifications

• Graduate degree in Library and Information Science or equivalent archival experience.
• Demonstrated ability to provide excellent customer service.
• Aptitude for working effectively with students, faculty, staff, and community members.

Responsibilities

• Provide reference services for faculty, staff, students, and the broader community.
• Supervise the Archives & Special Collections reading room.
• Participate in outreach efforts and manage social media accounts.

Skills

Customer service

Organizational skills

Project management

Communication skills

Problem-solving

Knowledge of records management

Knowledge of archival metadata

Education

Graduate degree in Library and Information Science or equivalent experience

2-3 years relevant work experience

Job description

Overview

Work Location: This position is based in Tacoma, WA. This is an on-campus role only.

Position Summary:

This is a 24 hour per week position that processes the archival holdings of the Archives & Special Collections and provides reference, research, and teaching services as well as supports digital projects work for the department. This position reports directly to the Archivist & Special Collections Librarian.

The successful candidate will work closely with the Archivist & Special Collections Librarian to transform access, enhance discovery, and stimulate student learning in Archives and Special Collections. This position will process the archival backlog and incoming collections according to the department's guidelines, from accession through re-housing, organization, description, creation and upload of EAD (encoded archival discovery) and DACS-(describing archival contentstandards) compliant finding aids. The Archivist serves as principal contact for the Abby Williams Hill papers, a unique collection of writings, ephemera, and artifacts of Hill, an early Tacoma artist. This position will also support acquisitions work by liaising with academic departments, programs, and student organizations to facilitate the transfer of university records to the archives.

This position provides reference services for the Archives & Special Collections, including oversight of the reading room hours, facilitating research appointments, and communicating with researchers via phone, email, or video. This position will supervise student employees and participate in outreach and instruction for the Archives & Special Collections. This includes managing the Archives & Special Collections Instagram account, updating the archives webpages, and participating at Archives & Special Collections events.

In addition, the position will also participate and / or take the lead in digital projects, which may include the digitization, description, and upload of archival materials to discovery platforms. The position will scan and provide access to archival materials in support of reference requests and departmental outreach projects

Essential Job Functions and Responsibilities:

• Establish physical and intellectual control over collections by participating in the accession, preservation assessment, arrangement and description, basic conservation, and preparation for long-term storage of collections based on archival policies and procedures including the development of EAD-compliant finding aids.
• Liaise between the Archives & Special Collections and university offices and departments to facilitate the transfer of records and support records management best practices.
• Provide reference services for faculty, staff, students, and the broader community and supervises the Archives & Special Collections reading room.
• Serve as principal contact for the Abby Williams Hill papers, a unique collection of writings, ephemera, and artifacts of this early Tacoma artist. Responsibilities include oversight of the archival collection, research assistance, outreach and consultation with other stakeholders including the Curator of Abby Williams Hill Memorial Collection of paintings.
• Collaborate with the Archivist & Special Collections Librarian to promote and provide curriculum integration support and research assistance for students and faculty.
• Participate in outreach efforts, including providing content for the Archives & Special Collections Instagram account, updating archives webpages and guides, and planning and facilitating events.
• Create and maintain archival metadata adhering to best practices and standards.
• Participate in the digitization, description, and upload of archival materials to discovery platforms.
• Organize workflow efficiently to maximize production and meet deadlines.
• Compile statistics for project and individual work.
• Participate in committees, task forces, and other groups as appropriate.

Supervisory Responsibilities

This position is responsible for the supervision of 1-4 student assistants.

Qualifications

• Graduate degree in Library and Information Science from an ALA-accredited institution or equivalent archival experience and academic training.
• 2-3 years successful relevant work experience, with demonstrated ability to provide excellent customer service.
• Aptitude for working effectively with students, faculty, staff, and community members; enthusiasm for delivering high-quality service to an academic community.
• Strong organizational skills, with attention to detail and thoroughness; project managementexperience or aptitude.
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, belonging, inclusion, and equity.
• Knowledge of basic records management principles, including but not limited to access and handling of sensitive materials.
• Creative problem-solving abilities, initiative, perseverance, and intellectual curiosity.
• Familiarity with archival metadata schema.
• Effective written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to learn, adopt, and propagate new technologies quickly.
• Ability to respectfully work, communicate and provide leadership within a diverse campus community.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience processing archival materials.
• Experience working in an academic library.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to work with a variety of materials in various states of repair and cleanliness.
• The work environment requires frequent walking, standing, lifting and carrying materials up to 50 pounds, and may require collection shifting.

Compensation and Benefits

Compensation: It is anticipated that the successful candidate will be hired between $23.05 - $24.50. The midpoint for an experienced employee in this role is this position is $28 per hour, and starting salary will be based on experience level. Decisions about starting salaries are made based on the extent and relatedness of the candidate's education and experience and on internal equity and market considerations.

Benefits: Puget Sound offers a generous benefits package for eligible staff employees, including:

• Medical, dental, and vision
• Life insurance and long-term disability
• Employee Assistance Program
• Retirement plan options and 403(b) contributions
• Paid vacation, sick leave, floating holiday, campus holidays and bonus holidays
• Education benefits, such as full tuition for eligible employees and their families
• Access to university facilities and entertainment (fitness center, pool, library, concerts, lectures and more!)

Please note -Positions that work less than .75 FTE (1,560 hours per year) do not qualify for long-term disability or education benefits. -Positions that work less than .50 FTE (1,040 hours per year) will accrue paid sick leave but are not eligible for additional benefits. -Temporary positions that work at least .50 FTE (1,040 hours per year) will be eligible for benefits.

This position is non-exempt from the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Application Details

Application Deadline: Review of applications will begin immediately. Search and selection procedures will be closed when a sufficient number of qualified candidates have been identified.

Required Documents:

• Resume
• Letter of Interest

Applications submitted without the required attachments will not be considered.

All offers of employment are contingent on successful completion of all required background checks.

University Diversity Statement

We Acknowledge:

• The richness of commonalities and differences we share as a university community.
• The intrinsic worth of all who work and study here.
• The investigation and reflection enhance that education upon multiple perspectives.

We Aspire:

• To create respect for and appreciation of all persons as a key characteristic of our campus community.
• To increase the diversity of all parts of our university community through a commitment to diversity in our recruitment and retention efforts.
• To foster a spirit of openness to active engagement among all members of our campus community.

We Act:

• To achieve an environment that welcomes and supports diversity.
• To ensure full educational opportunity for all who teach and learn here.
• To prepare citizen-leaders effectively for a pluralistic world.

The University of Puget Sound is an equal opportunity employer.

Please note that we generally do not sponsor applicants for work visas for staff positions. Therefore, we generally require applicants for staff positions to be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis.

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