Position Title: Assistant University Archivist for Technical Services
Department: RBSC/Mudd
Rank: Librarian I or II
The Princeton University Library is one of the world’s leading research libraries, serving a diverse community of 5,200 undergraduates, 2,700 graduate students, 1,200 faculty members, and many visiting scholars. Its holdings include more than 7 million printed volumes, 5 million manuscripts, 2 million non-print items, and extensive collections of digital text, data, and images. The Library employs a dedicated and knowledgeable staff of more than 300 professional and support staff working in a large central library, 9 specialized branches, and 3 storage facilities.
Description of Major Responsibilities, Essential Qualifications, Preferred Qualifications (3,700 character maximum):
Major Responsibilities:
The Assistant University Archivist for Technical Services works at the Princeton University Library’s Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, a unit of the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections. This Library houses a major collection of 20th-century public policy papers and the Princeton University Archives (about 45,000 lf total). Over 5,000 researchers visit or write the Library annually, requesting over 8,000 containers, and the Technical Services operations at the Mudd Library has a history of incorporating new technologies in providing access to its records. For more information, see the Mudd Library’s home page: http://www.princeton.edu/~mudd/.
The primary responsibility of this person is to manage technical services operations of holdings of the Mudd Library. This includes an ambitious processing program that involves oversight of two professional archivists and one support staff, as well as the recording of over 150 accessions per year. The focus is on efficient, effective, and creative processing using current standards and procedures. This person also helps manage the Library’s finding aid site, cataloging, data management activities, and digitization projects. The position requires fluency with databases, web technologies, and computing tools in addition to familiarity with standard bibliographic control conventions such as DACS, EAD and MARC. The incumbent reports to the University Archivist and Curator of Public Policy Papers, and also to the Rare Books and Special Collections Department’s Head of Technical Services, who oversees procedures and standards.
The Technical Services Archivist is part of Mudd’s three-person management team (consisting of this person, the Public Services Archivist, and the University Archivist) and is part of Mudd’s reference rotation, serving as primary or backup reference person one day per week. This position works closely with the Public Services Archivist, as they are jointly responsible for the daily operations of the Library, and each helps establish priorities, policies, and procedures for the building and staff, as well as participating in department and system-wide library activities. This person is also involved in mounting exhibitions both within the building and as part of a rotation in the main gallery in Firestone Library. This person also participates in the management of the Department’s Technical Services Division along with the Division’s other team leaders.
Essential Qualifications:
• Three to five years of progressively responsible archival experience with emphasis on appraising and processing large archival collections and producing finding aids. Familiarity with current developments in processing procedures, along with flexibility and adaptability in the context of conceptual and technological change.
• Advanced proficiency with standards for archival description such as DACS, EAD, and EAC-CPF.
• Knowledge and awareness of current trends in digitization and of metadata formats such as MODS and METS.
• Advanced computer skills, including database literacy and web-related knowledge.
• Strong organizational abilities and excellent writing and editing skills.
Preferred Qualifications:
• Supervisory experience.
• Experience with electronic records accessioning, description, and preservation, including born digital materials.
• Knowledge of XSLT, XQuery or other scripting languages relevant to the management of descriptive data.
• Experience with collection management tools such as the Archivists’ Toolkit, Archon, or ArchivesSpace.
• Detailed knowledge of 20th-century American history.
Education Requirements:
Master’s degree from an ALA-accredited program with a concentration in archives management, or advanced degree in an allied discipline
Applications will be accepted only from the Jobs at Princeton website: http://www.princeton.edu/jobs and must include a resume, cover letter, and a list of three references with full contact information. This position is subject to the University’s background check policy.
Princeton University is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
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