Assistant Archivist: Walter & Leonore Annenberg Research Center – Full-time, Two-Year Term Position

Brandywine-Conservancy-&-Museum-of-Ar; Chadds Ford Township (PA); On-site; USD 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

The Brandywine Museum of Art’s Walter & Leonore Annenberg Research Center seeks a full-time, fixed-term Assistant Archivist to process archives to professional standards, help with a major donation, and publish finding aids online in the ArchivesSpace database.

The role includes digitization projects, reference support for in-person and remote researchers, and collaboration with the Manager of Library, Archives, and Special Collections.

Qualifications

• ALA-accredited master's degree in library and information science with archival focus.
• 1-2 years of related archival processing experience.
• Experience with ArchivesSpace.
• Experience digitizing archival materials.
• Strong organizational and communication skills; meticulous attention to detail.
• Ability to assist patrons with inquiries and research appointments.

Responsibilities

• Surveying, processing, and reprocessing archival backlog to professional standards.
• Perform preservation tasks and rehousing as needed.
• Write and publish finding aids to ArchivesSpace.

Skills

Excellent written communication

Excellent verbal communication

Strong organizational skills

Attention to detail

Independent worker

Interpersonal skills

Education

ALA-accredited master’s degree in library and information science with archival focus

Tools

ArchivesSpace

Job description

Assistant Archivist: Walter & Leonore Annenberg Research Center – Full-time, Two-Year Term Position

The Brandywine Museum of Art’s Walter & Leonore Annenberg Research Center is seeking a full-time, fixed-term Assistant Archivist to work closely with the Manager of Library, Archives, and Special Collections, processing archives by helping to improve intellectual and physical access to materials. This Assistant will prioritize surveying, processing, and reprocessing of backlog in Special Collections to professional standards as well as writing finding aids and publishing them online to Brandywine’s ArchivesSpace database. The Assistant will also help the Manager with processing, evaluating, and inventorying a recent large donation to the Research Center of N.C. Wyeth-related materials, currently housed in offsite storage. This collection primarily contains books, as well as other archival materials and artifacts. The Assistant will help the Manager with related collection management tasks surrounding this donation.

The Assistant will also work on digitization projects as assigned, whether this is on demand for researcher needs, or for preservation of priority collections, such as the N.C. Wyeth Correspondence Collection of Betsy James Wyeth.

Finally, this position will also provide reference and research assistance to the Manager, supporting in-person and remote researchers, as well as image rights requests.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Surveying, processing, and reprocessing archival backlog in Special Collections to professional standards.
• Performs basic preservation tasks (removing staples and paperclips, rehousing materials to appropriate enclosures, implementing conservation measures if necessary)
• Writing and publishing finding aids to ArchivesSpace
• Assisting with processing and collection management of a major donation of special collections materials pertaining to N.C. Wyeth
• Assisting with digitizing archival materials to professional standards
• Assisting with Research Center reference inquiries and patrons as needed
• Performs other duties, special projects, and cross-departmental assignments as assigned that are related to the position's purpose, level of responsibility, skills, and Brandywine's operational needs.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• ALA-accredited master’s degree in library and information science with a focus on archival studies strongly preferred; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 1-2 years of related archival processing experience
• Sensitivity to proper care and handling of archives and special collections; knowledge of best preservation practices
• Experience working with ArchivesSpace.
• Experience digitizing and scanning archival materials.
• Ability to assist patrons with inquiries, reference, and research appointments.
• Strong organizational skills and meticulous attention to detail
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills for working with all Museum staff, volunteers, interns, and researchers from the public.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
• Reliable transportation to and from the Museum

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• A background or undergraduate study in art history, studio art, or another field related to the Museum’s collections.
• Knowledge of best practices in terms of image rights and reproduction of archival materials
• Experience copy-cataloging books and other library materials.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Sitting for prolonged periods of time
• Ability to occasionally lift and carry up to 30 pounds, with or without reasonable accommodation, and perform physical activities including standing, walking, bending, reaching, pushing, and pulling archival materials. Working in a collection’s storage space with controlled temperature and humidity settings for paper and photographic materials

BRANDYWINE MUSEUM OF ART:

Established in 1971, the Brandywine Museum of Art is one of the two programs of the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art. The Museum is situated on a 15-acre campus on the banks of the Brandywine River in Chadds Ford in the greater Philadelphia region. The Museum’s flagship collections are those by artists who have lived and/or worked in the region since the nineteenth century, most notably three generations of the Wyeth family. Brandywine’s permanent collection includes paintings and works on paper from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Along with the Wyeth family, other notable artists represented include Marsden Hartley, Martin Johnson Heade, Violet Oakley, Rose O’Neill, Horace Pippin, Howard Pyle, William Trost Richards, and Norman Rockwell.

Complementing the collection is a robust slate of temporary exhibitions ranging from one-person exhibitions devoted to artists such as Charles Burchfield, Stuart Davis, Wharton Esherick, Allan Freelon, Jerrell Gibbs, Horace Pippin, Joseph Stella, Helen Torr, and James Welling, to group exhibitions such as Abundance/Excess: A Contemporary Eye on Still Life; Cropsey, Wyeth, and the American Landscape Tradition; Rooted: Family and Nature in Contemporary Children’s Book Illustration; Rural Modern: American Art Beyond the City , America’s Impressionists: Echoes of a Revolution , and Natural Wonders: The Sublime in Contemporary Art — many of which are accompanied by major publications that have significantly contributed to the study of American art.

WALTER & LEONORE ANNENBERG RESEARCH CENTER:

The Walter & Leonore Annenberg Research Center houses a research library with publications covering all periods of American art, with a particular emphasis on the history of landscape and illustration. The library has strengths in references on American illustration and graphic artsfrom the nineteenth century through the present, in addition to studies on the history of publishing andprivatepress,artists’ media and techniques, book making and design. The Research Center’s historical archives preserve a variety of materials related to artists represented in the Museum's collection, including the N.C. Wyeth Correspondence Collection of Betsy James Wyeth, as well as other rare and unique collections related to the Wyeth family. Additional examples of this include a large collection of objects and ephemera related to N.C. Wyeth’s career within the Linda Bean and Doug Allen collections. Additional important collections includeartists Henry Louis Stephens, Howard Pyle, Thornton Oakley, Elizabeth Shippen Green, Maxfield Parrish, Henry Pitz, John Sloan, and Nancy Ekholm Burkert. The Research Centeralso preserves a large collection of nineteenth- through late twentieth-century illustrated books and periodicals that record artists’ published work and career history.

EMPLOYMENT STATUS: Full-Time, Fixed-Term, Project-Funded (24 Months)

This project-funded position for a fixed period of two years, beginning on the employee's date of hire. The appointment is expected to conclude automatically at the end of the 24-month period, unless otherwise extended in writing by Brandywine. Continuation of employment beyond the project period is not guaranteed. The position remains subject to Brandywine's at-will employment policies and may end earlier in accordance with those policies and applicable law.

SCHEDULE: 37.5 hours a week Monday through Friday.

We are an equal opportunity employer and consider all qualified applicants equally without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law. The Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art is committed to building a culturally diverse staff.