Project Archivist-Legacy Finding Aid Conversion
The Explorers Club
Overview
The Explorers Club is a 501(c)3, non-profit institution dedicated to the promotion of field research and the proposition that it is vital to preserve the instinct to explore. Founded in 1904, the club now has approximately 3,000 members worldwide. As an historic institution, the Club recognizes its obligation to preserve, conserve, and make available the unique and important records in its custody. These consist of a research library of over 13,000 volumes, 550 linear feet of archives and manuscripts and an object collection. The collections are used by biographers, genealogists, film documentarians, curators, writers, journalists, photo researchers, independent enthusiasts, members, and students.
The Club has recently received a grant of $10,000 from the Geoffrey and Martha Clark Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation to convert handwritten, typescript and other legacy finding aids into machine readable versions. The goal is to have these finding aids available to researchers via our website by the end of 2009.
This will be a 500 hour, consulting position.
Duties
Under the general supervision of the Curator of Archives, Collections and Books, the project archivist will convert the Club's disparate legacy finding aids into a single, uniform electronic format consistent with standard archival descriptive practices. All data will eventually reside in a single mySQL database, with access either through the Archivists' Toolkit or ICA-AtoM running as a front end. Depending upon original format, the project archivist may need to perform manual data entry, OCR or direct import of data from Microsoft Word and Excel documents. You may also be asked to contribute to an overall guide to the archives and manuscripts which the Curator will be working on concurrently.
Qualifications
This is an entry-level position suitable for those who have recently obtained a Master's Degree with an archival concentration (MLS, MLIS or MA in history) and/or who have 1-2 years of experience processing archival collections. In addition, candidates should have the following qualifications:
· Knowledge of archival theory, methodology and practice.
· Knowledge of archival descriptive standards including EAD and DACS.
· Demonstrated experience with Microsoft Office.
· Good data entry skills.
Preferred skills
· Knowledge of the ISAD(G) standard.
· Demonstrated experience with the Archivists' Toolkit and/or ICA-AtoM.
· Demonstrated experience with mySQL.
· Demonstrated experience with scanning software and OCR.
The position is located at The Explorers Club offices in New York, NY.
Salary and Start Date
$20/hr., beginning September 8, 2009.
To Apply:
Applications will be accepted until August 21, 2009, with review of applications to take place the week of August 24-28. Interviews will be conducted the week of August 31 to September 4. Note that due to closure of the Club building during the month of August, we cannot provide you with a contact phone number, but would be happy to answer further questions about this position by email.
Send resume and cover letter to:
preferred: dsartain@explorers.org
by mail:
Dorthea Sartain, CA, PhD
Curator of Archives, Collections and Books
The Explorers Club
46 E. 70th Street
New York, NY 10463
Originally posted on a library school listserv.
