Assistant Archivist, Upper Midwest Jewish Archives

Description

Required/Preferred Qualifications Required:
Bachelor's degree, plus two (2) years of relevant archives experience.
Experience with MS Office Suite.
Ability to lift 45 pound boxes on a regular basis.


Preferred:
Experience appraising and arranging large collections.
Experience with outreach and instruction in archives.
Experience with archival reference service.
Experience working with community groups and boards.
Knowledge of EAD and cataloging standards.
Strong verbal and written communication skills. 
Duties/Responsibilities This is a 50% continuing position:

1.) Provide consultation and research services for faculty, students, visiting scholars, and other researchers (30%). Duties include:
-Conduct detailed research, analysis and interpretation for distance users (email and phone) using UMJA collections, providing answers to specific questions and providing guidance for areas of further research and referring them to other repositories, based on knowledge of related national and international repositories and facility with external reference tools and resources
-Provide reference, research, and referral service to on-site users, helping them to identify and prioritize their opportunities and advising on research strategies requiring synthesis of information from unpublished sources and interpreting the content of the collections
-Address issues of access and permissions, including negotiation of use agreements for publication purposes, which requires knowledge of intellectual property law, and requests for access to restricted materials as governed by donor agreements and informed by statutory and professional ethical data privacy mandates

2.) Provide outreach, instructional, and other collections-based programming (20%). Duties include:
-Consult with faculty members to identify archival materials appropriate for use in specific class presentations and assignments
-Prepare instructional resources and develop and make class presentations that introduce students to the nature of archival research and to specific topical research opportunities in the UMJA collections
-Make presentations to, and lead tours for visitors that introduce them the UMJA
-Create exhibits, make public presentations, prepare content for the unit's website that represent the UMJA collections and promote information literacy regarding the nature and use of archives
-Maintain a strong working relationship with the Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest, coordinating programming, acquisitions, and exhibits

3.) Process archives and manuscript collections and prepare descriptive finding aids according to professional standards and local practice (30%). Duties include:
-Establish processing priorities and develop arrangement and description plans for newly acquired collections, taking into account physical processing needs, and determining appropriate level of description for collections and parts of collections
-Create EAD (Encoded Archival Description) finding aids and make available online
-Conduct research and write biographical and historical descriptions of organizations, persons, activities, and programs and summaries of collection contents suitable for publication on the Archives and Special Collections website
-Maintain currency with, and apply, appropriate professional standards including DACS and EAD as the necessary basis for the performance of above duties

4.) Assist in the selection, acquisition, and management of archival collections and books and serials (20%). Duties include:
-Appraise incoming shipments of archival records and systematically re-appraise existing collections, making recommendations to the Archivist on retention and disposition of materials relative to the UMJA's collecting policy
-Act as liaison with donor organizations and individuals, advising them on types of materials to send to the UMJA, arranging shipment of records, and preparing deeds of gift
-Select books and serials from those offered to the UMJA as gifts and make recommendations for occasional purchase
-Manage the life cycle of archives holdings and holdings metadata from acquisition through subsequent storage, processing, description, and use 
Program/Unit Description The Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives (UMJA), is part of Archives and Special Collections at the University of Minnesota. The archives is located in Elmer L. Andersen Library and contains important archival holdings of the Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest (JHSUM).

The archives comprises the collection of the Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives (UMJA) and the newly transferred collections of the Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest (JHSUM). The combined collections preserve the stories of the earliest Jewish settlers in the Midwest and the Jewish history of Minnesota, the Dakotas, Northern Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. JHSUM is the only organization in the Upper Midwest dedicated to preserving these unique stories and educating the community about Jewish history in the region. The archives consist of synagogue and Jewish institutional records, historical materials from rural Midwest communities, family papers, photographs, memorabilia and other records of Jewish life in the Midwest.