Reference Archivist I — Public Research & Archives

MaineGuide; Augusta (ME); On-site; USD 24,000 - 33,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Paid Holidays

Job summary

Department of the Secretary of State, Maine State Archives, seeks a Reference Archivist I in Augusta. The role performs archival research, reference services, and instruction in use of archival materials, including paper and digital formats.

Duties include retrieving records, monitoring usage, and training others under limited supervision. The ideal candidate brings strong customer service, attention to detail, and teamwork.

Qualifications

• Foundational education, training, and/or experience in archival services, history, or another related field demonstrating competency in State and American history, working with manual and electronic information systems, managing records and other documents, and utilizing scholarly research sources, methods, and techniques.

Responsibilities

• Provides reference services to the public and state agencies through email, telephone, and in-person interactions.
• Utilizes and educates others on archival tools and best practices, including databases, guides, and resources for finding, using, and handling historical documents in both paper and digital formats.
• Conducts detailed historical, statutory, and other research for in-house and public use, utilizing a variety of physical and digital resources.
• Collaborates with patrons, state agencies, and community partners to create specialized content experiences, programs, outreach initiatives, and deliverables, including research guides, presentations, and workshops.
• Contributes to the development, implementation, and refinement of policies and procedures.
• Arranges, processes, and preserves collections according to accepted professional standards and practices, including the understanding and implementation of DACS and EAD, to ensure public access to government documents.
• Adheres to multi-year project management plans.
• Provides input regarding materials for accession and deaccession.
• Determines and applies appropriate conservation methods to preserve and rehabilitate records, maps, and materials.
• Assesses and recommends potential confidentiality restrictions in compliance with state and federal laws and regulations.
• Contributes to the administration of Archives Space, Libsafe, and OpenAccess databases, as well as maintaining metadata and user manuals.
• Creates and uploads records and metadata to multiple databases using controlled vocabularies and metadata schemas and performs reparative descriptions.
• Coordinates with Archive Services and Records Management teams to create and amend records retention schedules, input data into the RM Database, facilitate the transfer of archival records, and add new archival acquisitions to the collection.
• Attends continuing education webinars, workshops, and conferences to stay updated on emerging archival best practices, including tools, approaches, and standards.
• Completes special projects as assigned to support the agency’s goals and objectives.

Job description

Department of the Secretary of State, Maine State Archives, seeks a Reference Archivist I in Augusta. The role performs archival research, reference services, and instruction in use of archival materials, including paper and digital formats.

Duties include retrieving records, monitoring usage, and training others under limited supervision. The ideal candidate brings strong customer service, attention to detail, and teamwork.