Project Archivist

Description

The Stanford University Archives was created in 1965 by the Board of Trustees to collect, preserve, and make available the historically and legally valuable records of the University and of Stanford community members. Adjunct to this responsibility is the collecting of all materials relating to the University's founders, Leland and Jane Lathrop Stanford, and to those Stanford and Lathrop family members who were associated with them in business ventures or the creation of Stanford University.

The University Archives supports faculty teaching and research, graduate level research, as well as undergraduate thesis and course work. Additionally the University Archives serves as the major information source for campus offices, such as the President's Office, the News Service, the Office of Development, the Facilities Planning Office, and the Stanford Alumni Association.

Responsibilities:

The Project Archivist is responsible for working independently and as head of a team responsible for processing the papers of Stephen H. Schneider. Included in this work is developing a processing plan based on an analysis of the identified series in the collection; overseeing the day-to-day work of the Project Assistant and student worker(s); providing guidance on best practices for processing; separating materials for confidentiality or preservation purposes; identifying issues that need to be brought to the attention of Archives staff; writing brief series descriptions; supervising other project staff in authority work using Library of Congress name and subject authorities, as well as ensuring all descriptions comply with AACR2, DACS, or other relevant standards.

Project management - 10%

• Manage time and staff in order to complete organization, re-housing and description of collection within the 1 year project
• Keep researchers and public services up to date with processing and available status of Schneider materials as the project unfolds
• Supervise hourly staff member
• Run project team meetings; attend division meetings
• Report to Archives staff regularly

Processing & organization - 85%

• Survey collection both to determine necessary work to re-house and create intellectual organization for collection
• Analyze and propose workflow, including: appraisal, description levels, etc.
• Arrange and describe the Schneider papers
• Describe collection using Archivists' Toolkit (AT) software
• Keep statistics regarding processing rate to incorporate into departmental statistics
• Identify preservation issues
• Work independently and make judgments and recommendations about content appraisal

End-processing - 5%

• Complete the finding aid in the Archivists' Toolkit, including supervising the authorized headings for name and subject terms
• Clean-up accession records in Archivists' Toolkit

Qualifications & Skills:

• MLS from an ALA-accredited program or equivalent with a concentration in archival studies
• Undergraduate or Master's degree, preferably in Biology or a related field
• At least 2-3 years of experience working in archives or special collections including work as lead archivist for processing team on larger or complex collections
• Experience of cataloging and managing archives to recognized standards
• Experience using the Archivists' Toolkit
• Demonstrated ability to complete projects on-time and on-budget
• Demonstrated supervisory experience
• Strong analytical, organizational and interpersonal skills
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a production-oriented, team environment.
• Flexibility and adaptability; ability to think creatively
• Demonstrated experience using judgment and initiative
• Must be able to lift 40 pounds.