Project Archivist

The New York Historical; New York (NY); On-site; USD 34,000 - 49,000; Part time

Job summary

The New York Historical invites applications for a part-time Project Archivist in the Library. You will process manuscript and archival materials, including records from Reader's Digest, applying professional arrangement and description standards to enable user access.

You will work up to 24 hours per week, with duties spanning physical and intellectual processing, basic conservation screening, and occasional outreach activities such as blogging or sharing finding aids online.

Qualifications

• MLS/MA in Archives or History with archival focus; accredited program.

Responsibilities

• Process manuscript and archival materials physically and intellectually.
• Arrange collections per archival principles and practices.
• Describe with ArchivesSpace for user discovery in finding aids (DACS-compliant).
• Assign names and subjects using authorities (NACO, LCSH, AAT).
• Consult with conservators, curators, catalogers, reference librarians, and digital specialists as needed.
• Move collections in/out of storage and record locations.
• Support curators and public service staff with reference inquiries.
• Engage in outreach activities (blogging, presentations, Wikipedia links).
• Assist with Library/Archival Processing Unit objectives.

Skills

Attention to detail

Independent worker

Team collaboration

Education

MLS with Archives concentration (ALA accredited)

Tools

ArchivesSpace

Job description

JOB TITLE:

Project Archivist

DEPARTMENT:

Library

REPORTS TO:

Director of Cataloging, Metadata, and Archival Processing

About The New York Historical

New York’s first museum, The New York Historical is a leading cultural institution documenting over 400 years of American history through a peerless collection of art, documents, and artifacts. Our offerings span groundbreaking exhibitions; acclaimed educational programs for teachers and students nationwide; and thought-provoking conversations among leading scholars, journalists, and thinkers about the past, present, and future of the American experiment. The New York Historical is a museum of museums and a collection of collections. We are home to the Patricia D. Klingenstein Library, the Center for Women’s History, the Reiss Family Graduate Institute for Constitutional History, the Dorothy Tapper Goldman Center for Teaching Democracy, the DiMenna Children’s History Museum, and the future American LGBTQ+ Museum. We elevate the perspectives and scholarship that define the United States’ democratic heritage and challenge us all to shape our ongoing history for the better.

The collections of the Patricia D. Klingenstein Library

are particularly strong in local history of New York City and State; colonial history; the Revolutionary War; American military and naval history; religion and religious movements; the Anglo-American slave trade and slavery in the United States; the Civil War; records of benevolent and charitable organizations; American biography and genealogy; American art and art patronage; American architecture from the late 18th century to the present; and 19th- and 20th-century portraiture and documentary photographs of New York City. The collections include 20,000 linear feet of manuscripts, 500,000 photographs, 400,000 prints, 350,000 books and pamphlets, 150,000 architectural drawings, 20,000 broadsides, 15,000 printed maps, 10,000 newspapers, 10,000 dining menus, and vast collections of other ephemera. The library is actively expanding its holdings in all areas into the 20th and 21st centuries, including a growing number of born-digital collections.

Job Summary

The Project Archivist is responsible for the processing of manuscript and archival materials, specifically the records of Reader's Digest. Processing includes physical and intellectual arrangement consistent with professional principles and practices; basic conservation tasks and recognizing potential at-risk conditions for referral to the Library’s Conservator; description using methodologies as defined in professional standards; and storing or arranging for the storing of processed materials. Archival materials processed may include manuscripts and typescripts, graphics, photographs, audio recordings, moving images, and artifacts. The position may also participate in occasional outreach activities such as blogging, presentations, providing links to descriptive material through Wikipedia, etc. This is a part-time grant-funded position, working no more than 24 hours per week. This temporary position is anticipated to begin in January 2027 and continue for approximately six months.

Essential Job Duties

• Process collections physically to facilitate user access and satisfy routine conservation needs;
• Arrange collections intellectually, consistent with professional archival principles and practices;
• Using ArchivesSpace, describe collections to an appropriate level for user discovery in DACS-compliant online finding aids;
• Assign name and subject headings in finding aids and catalog entries using authorities/controlled vocabularies, including NACO, LCSH, and AAT;
• Consult as warranted with other library professionals, especially conservators, curators, catalogers, reference librarians, and digital specialists, in the performance of job responsibilities;
• Move collections in and out of storage as needed during processing, and record locations of newly stored materials;
• Provide occasional support to the curators and public service staff in answering reference inquiries or identifying material relevant to planned exhibitions;
• Perform occasional outreach activities about the collections, such as by blogging or through other social media, making presentations to groups, etc.;
• Assist with other requested activities related to the Library’s and Archival Processing Unit’s objectives.

Requirements

• M.L.S. with a concentration in Archives from an A.L.A.-accredited program, M.A. in Archives, M.A. in History with Archival Certificate, or comparable educational background;
• Ability to handle artifacts with care, especially rare and fragile library, museum, and archival material;
• Attention to detail and an ability to follow a task through to completion;
• Possess a strong work ethic, be able to work well independently or with a team, take directions and perform accordingly.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee with or without accommodation, to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. This is largely a sedentary role using a computer; however, some retrieving and placement of collections is required. This would require the ability to remove archival boxes, weighing up to 30 lbs., from shelves, push fully-loaded book carts and wire racks, re-shelve boxes, and bend or stoop as necessary.

Compensation

Salary: $30.00/hour

The New York Historical is an Equal Opportunity Employer.