Archivist, Special Collections & College Archives

Lafayette College Libraries seeks an archivist to join its Special Collections & College Archives team. The Library is the recipient of the 2014 ACRL Excellence in Academic Libraries Award, which recognized the Libraries' pioneering work in acquisition, information literacy, and digital scholarship. It strongly encourages and generously supports professional development, including covering membership fees and conference registrations and travel.

Lafayette College is a highly selective, private liberal arts college with degree programs in the arts, sciences, and engineering. With an endowment per student ranked among the top 2% of all U.S. colleges and universities, it offers a small college environment with large college resources.

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT

Special Collections & College Archives is home to over 200 manuscript, art, and artifact collections of national and global scope; 20,000 rare book titles, including incunabula and other early imprints; and the historical records of the College dating from its conception by the citizens of Easton in 1824 to the present day.

ABOUT THE POSITION

Collections Processing and Stewardship

Processes collections, including accessioning, surveying, arranging and describing new and backlogged manuscript and archival materials in all formats. Uses applicable professional standards and best practices. Develops and maintains associated workflows.

Identifies and implements rehousing and preservation treatments as needed.

Produces finding aids in ArchivesSpace and collaborates on MARC catalog records, utilizing knowledge of standards including DACS, EAD, MARC, and appropriate thesauri & authority lists for archival description.

Revises, edits, corrects, and migrates legacy finding aids to ArchivesSpace.

Coordinates College Archives records transfers from administrative and academic offices. Supports the institutional web archiving program.

Liaises with the Digital Archivist on the transfer and preservation of born-digital files.

Provides exhibition and collection digitization support.

Assists with managing fundamental on-site operations and physical spaces as needed.

Instruction, Reference, and Mentoring

Collaborates with faculty and librarians to design and deliver innovative, experiential instruction featuring manuscripts, archives, and other unique materials across the full range of disciplines.

Assists researchers in identifying and using Special Collections & College Archives.

Trains and supervises student assistants, interns, Fellows and the Archives Collection Technician on processing, digitization, rehousing, and exhibition projects.

Qualifications ALA-accredited Master's Degree in library/information science with an emphasis or coursework in archival management.

One to two years of professional or pre-professional archival processing, finding aid preparation, and reference experience.

Knowledge or experience in archival theory, methodology and practices, including descriptive systems and principles (DACS, EAD, MARC, appropriate thesauri & authority lists for archival description).

Experience with archival collection management systems and digital preservation frameworks (e.g. ArchivesSpace and Preservica).

Demonstrated knowledge of teaching with primary resources in an academic library with a focus on student engagement and critical interpretation of special collections and archives.

Excellent interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills.

Strong work ethic, project management skills, and service orientation.

Ability to work closely and effectively with faculty, students, the administration, and visiting researchers.

Ability to work independently and in a team environment.

Demonstrated commitment to equity, justice, and inclusion.

Physical Demands

Packs, lifts, and unloads boxes of archival materials that weigh approximately 30-40lbs. Often uses a step stool or ladder. Tolerance with materials that may include dust or mold.

Application Instructions Salary: $65,000. Lafayette College offers a generous benefits package.

Application deadline: January 31, 2025

Expected starting date: July 1, 2025

For consideration, please submit a resume, a cover letter, and the names of three professional references

For more information and to apply, visit https://apply.interfolio.com/160857

Lafayette College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, disability, religion, age, military or veteran status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or familial status, pregnancy, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law in its educational programs and activities, admissions, or employment as required by Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 (which requires that the College not discriminate on the basis of sex); the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (which requires that the College not discriminate on the basis of disability); Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (which requires that the College not discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin); and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (which requires that the College not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin); and other applicable laws and College policies.