Job Opening Title:
Fellowship
Name of Employer:
California State Parks
Job Site Location (City, State) :
Sacramento
Application Deadline:
April 29, 2024
Minimum Degree Requirement:
BA
Years of experience required:
Salary Range:
$24, 105 limited nine months
Job Opening URL:
https://forms.gle/2hY397DohheoyxoY7
Job Description (if URL to posting not available). Include instructions for how to apply.:
The California State Parks in the Capital (Sacramento) District seeks current graduate students, recent graduates, or early-career professionals in Archives, Libraries, and Museum Collections for a fellowship program starting in July 2024. The Capital District encompasses numerous museums and historic sites: the California State Railroad Museum, the Governor’s Mansion, the Leland Stanford Mansion, the State Capitol Museum, the State Indian Museum, and Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park.
Each fellow will focus on a project related to the California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives. More details about each fellowship position are below. Throughout, the fellows will attend information sessions with a range of State Parks staff to learn about career paths in the department. In addition, fellows will present their final projects at a district-wide symposium at the conclusion of the program.
The nine-month program begins July 15, 2024, and ends March 21, 2025. The total stipend is $24,105, which allows for 1,500 hours at the rate of $16.07 per hour, with no benefits. Work will be scheduled between Monday and Friday at the Statewide Museum Collections Center in McClellan or California State Railroad Museum. There may be occasional off-site meetings throughout the Sacramento area.
Current graduate students, recent graduates, and early career professionals from art history, library sciences, archival studies, museum studies, and collections management programs are preferred. We are also excited about the opportunity to reach candidates who bring diverse perspectives to their work.
To apply, please submit this application and a cover letter and resume or curriculum vitae using this form. In the cover letter, indicate preferences for one of the fellowships. If there is no preference, the applicant may be considered for either. For more information, please email Chief Curator, Melanie Tran at melanie.tran@parks.ca.gov.
Application review will begin on April 29, 2024.
The California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives is home to an extensive collection of books, periodicals, photographs, manuscripts, maps, drawings, and ephemera pertaining to more than 4,000 railroads and corporations throughout North America from 1820 to the present. The Library & Archives responds to an average of 1,500 requests a year from museum staff, volunteers, and community members including historians, genealogists, authors, modelers, and legal professionals.
Archives Fellow – R&LHS Collection
Throughout the nine-month fellowship, the Archives Fellow’s primary duty will be to process the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society’s collections, which include railroad artwork, posters, and oversize photographs on long-term loan to the California State Railroad Museum. They constitute the oldest, rarest, and most fragile items in the Society’s collection. The Fellow will arrange and describe this material. This may include researching the artwork and identifying rare items in poor condition that need to be examined by a conservator, providing a list of supplies and boxes to purchase for properly housing this material, arranging these documents by format, and performing minimal cataloging so that first-time public access can be provided to them. The Archives Fellow will also generate a finding aid using Archives Space in accordance with the standards and practices outlined in Describing Archives: A Content Standard, 2022 Edition and Encoded Archival Description. Time permitting, the Archives Fellow will also catalog drawings, scrapbooks, passes, and public timetables from the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society.
Knowledge of archival principles is desired, along with prior experience in basic conservation techniques and an interest in art, and familiarity with contemporary software. The Fellow will learn to use CSRM databases and become familiar with creating guides in ArchivesSpace and submission of finding aids to the Online Archive of California. The ideal candidate is self-directed, detail-oriented, and able to work in a collaborative environment.
Archives Fellow – Maps & Technical Drawings
Throughout the nine-month fellowship, the Archives Fellow’s primary duty is to review the storage of the maps and technical drawings collection, update catalog records to accurately reflect current storage locations, and identify or locate misfiled items. The Archives Fellow fills in as needed with general library operations including working with volunteers, handling reference requests, and processing reproduction orders.
Ideal skills include the ability to: assist with reference requests, provide excellent customer service, shelve and retrieve collections, catalog, process, and digitize collections. The ideal candidate is self‐directed, detail‐oriented, and able to work in a collaborative environment. Knowledge of railroad culture and history is welcome but not required.
Archives Gig 