Head of Archival Processing - Booth Family Center for Special Collections
Georgetown University Job Location: Washington, D.C. Date Created: 05-22-2019
The Head of Archival Processing leads, manages, and oversees the accessioning and processing of special collections materials and the management of special collections materials. S/he oversees term positions and independent contractors as needed for special projects. Reporting to the Director of the Booth Family Center for Special Collections and working closely with the Assistant University Archivist and the Assistant Art Curator on processing and managing collections, the Head of Archival Processing has additional duties that include but are not limited to:
Management and Supervision of Special Collections Processing
- Manages, supervises, and evaluates three full-time manuscripts archivists, special projects staff, and student workers.
- Coordinates, plans, and prioritizes appraisal, accessioning, processing, arrangement, and description of special collections materials in all formats in consultation with the relevant curators, archivists and Metadata Services staff.
- Supervises the preparation of finding aids to provide access to the collections in accordance with relevant national and international standards.
- Participates in inventory control and maintains accession records.
- Participates in financial plan preparation and grant funding efforts by creating work plans, developing budgets for processing, preservation and digitization projects, and writing proposals and progress reports.
Physical Collections Management
- In consultation with the Director, Curators, and University Archivist, oversees the management of storage and access schemes for the collections, including transfers and retrievals to and from the Washington Research Libraries Consortium's (WRLC) shared collections storage facility.
- Coordinates and supervises stacks maintenance, including the inventory and arrangement of materials within and outside the Center's collections spaces.
- Coordinates and assists in prioritizing the preservation, conservation, and security needs of the collections in consultation with the Director, Curators, and the University Archivist.
- Communicates with Preservation staff regarding the coordination of conservation work for special collections materials.
- Collaborates with colleagues throughout library to develop and execute projects that provide online access to special collections materials through digitization.
Reference and Outreach
- Answers research questions from faculty, students, administrators, alumni, the media, and other researchers at the reference desk, and by phone, mail, email, or appointment.
- Participates in determining patrons' research needs and in identifying and locating appropriate information sources.
- Participates in determining which materials can be made available for research under University policy and the law.
- Instructs patrons in the proper care and use of collections materials.
- Works scheduled hours at the Booth Family Center for Special Collections reception desk and the Paul F. Betz Reading Room in rotation with other staff, assisting in maintaining security for the collections and the Center.
Professional Contributions & Development
- Participates in local consortia and regional and national associations.
- Maintains professional associations through organizations at the regional, national and/or international level.
- Continually acquires new knowledge and updates skills to enhance professional performance in all areas of responsibility.
- Keeps abreast of developments, trends, and issues in the library field.
- Monitors trends and maintains currency in areas of archives, rare books, manuscripts, fine arts, and other areas related to the position.
Qualifications
- An ALA-accredited Master's degree in Library or Information Science and/or advanced degree in a relevant discipline with relevant archival management and special collections training, or equivalent education and experience
- Minimum 5 years' experience in an archival repository or special collections library, preferably in an academic or research library
- Minimum 3 years' successful management and supervisory experience in increasingly responsible positions within special collections
- A deep understanding of the descriptive standards for archival and manuscript materials such as DACS and EAD
- A proven track record of successful complex archival processing projects demonstrating the ability to think strategically about the care and description of diverse special collections materials, and to steward them from initial ingest to preparation for digitization
- Demonstrated planning, decision making, and problem solving skills with superior verbal and written communication skills
Preferred Qualifications
- Certification by the Academy of Certified Archivists
- Familiarity with relevant standards, such as DCRM, AACR2, RDA, MARC, DublinCore, and LCSH
- Experience with ArchivesSpace
- Experience with one or more of the following: rare books, art, born digital materials, building digital collections
- Record of professional presentation, publication, and/or leadership in relevant organizations, including SAA, RBMS, ACRL, and/or ALA
- Reading knowledge of at least one foreign language
EEO Statement:
Georgetown University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer fully dedicated to achieving a diverse faculty and staff. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity and expression, and sexual orientation), disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
