Archivist I - Description & Access Tennessee Department of State Tennessee State Library and Archives
Archival Collection Services
Mission: The mission of the Office of the Secretary of State is to exceed the expectations of our customers, the taxpayers, by operating at the highest levels of accuracy, cost-effectiveness, and accountability in a customer-centered environment.
Supervisor: Archivist 3 - Description & Access Manager
Summary: Process and catalog complex archival collections and work with members of the Description & Access team to create and encode finding aids to make collections available to researchers online.
Duties/Responsibilities - Processes manuscript collections and state agency record groups of increasing complexity and participates in group processing projects.
- Arranges and describes archival materials in accordance to Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS) and other relevant archival standards.
- Ensures DACS compliance for finding aids in personal work and among peers by providing training/guidance regarding changes in descriptive practices.
- Assists with holdings management activities, including serving as stack puller as assigned.
- As assigned, assists with the accessioning of manuscript collections or the transmittal of state agency records.
- Works with the Description and Access team to establish and maintain a functional and productive Electronic Records Program for the Tennessee state agency records.
- Creates workflows that address access needs while remaining in compliance with best practices and evaluate pre-existing workflows for feasibility and efficacy.
Minimum Qualifications Education and Experience: - Master’s degree in Library/Information Sciences, Archives Management, Public History, or a related field from an accredited college or university.
- Experience equivalent to one year working with archival collections, library special collections, or records management.
- Experience in archival arrangement and description is required.
- Cataloging experience preferred.
Knowledge and Abilities: - Knowledge of manuscript processing techniques including familiarity with DACS and EAD for finding aid creation.
- Ability to develop and maintain finding aids using contemporary tools in accordance with national standards.
- Knowledge of archival and preservation concepts, methodology, techniques, and current digital preservation tools.
- Knowledge and understanding of the process and principles of records appraisal and disposition and the basic principles of archival theory and practice.
- Demonstrated competency in spreadsheet, database, and word processing skills.
- Strong competency in English composition equivalent to that of a successful research paper at the graduate level.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills and the ability to work collegially are essential.
- Ability to work in confined quarters and dusty or damp conditions for extended periods of time during the examination of neglected records storage.
- Knowledge and experience with archival processing, including archival theory and best practices regarding arrangement and description, are required. Familiarity with DACS preferred.
- Project management skills and experience preferred.
- Ability to work periodic Saturdays for stack retrieval tasks.
- Highly motivated individual.
- Ability to work independently and with limited supervision.
Salary: $47,000 plus the State of Tennessee Benefits Package.