Wednesday, November 12, 2014

University at Albany, SUNY seeks a University Archivist

If you relish the thought of working with awesome people, doing a lot of hands-on electronic records work, and living in or around the capital of the Empire State, the University at Albany -- one of the four research universities within the State University of New York (SUNY) system -- you need to know that UAlbany is hiring a new University Archivist:
The University at Albany Libraries seek to hire a skilled, flexible, motivated and service-oriented librarian to develop an electronic records program, manage archival processing, and provide reference service in the Libraries’ University Archives. Working collaboratively with other members of the Department of Special Collections and Archives, and other campus faculty, staff, and students, the successful candidate will:  provide reference and research service for the University Archives to students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the general public; supervise archival processing of the University Archives in paper and digital formats including arrangement, description, and preparation of EAD-encoded finding aids; plan, develop and implement an electronic records program for the University Archives; manage digital curation and preservation tasks including digital media inventorying, digital forensics, and applying metadata schema for access and preservation; develop ingest and web capture workflows for the acquisition of digital content; train and supervise student assistants and interns to assist in archival processing and digital projects; and contribute to efforts to expand access and use of special collections through exhibits, tours, and other forms of outreach. Tenure-track library faculty at the University at Albany, SUNY, are expected to engage in research, publication, and service to the Libraries, the University, and the profession, as required for promotion and continuing appointment.

Required qualifications
  • Master’s degree in librarianship from an ALA-accredited program or foreign equivalent, from a college or university accredited by a U.S. Department of Education or internationally recognized accrediting organization, with a concentration in archives administration or related coursework
  • Professional level experience in a special collections or archives environment
  • Experience processing, arranging and describing manuscript collections in both paper and digital formats following archival standards, including EAD, MARC and DACS
  • Experience providing reference and research service to students, faculty, staff, and the general public
  • Strong command of archival theory and best practices, especially as they relate to the particular issues posed by born digital content, computing operating systems, storage systems, and file formats
  • Knowledge of digital preservation principles, digital forensics techniques, and knowledge of digital standards such as PREMIS, OAIS, TDR, Dublin Core, METS, and MODS
  • Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with colleagues and constituents in a diverse environment
  • Excellent organizational and time-management skills as well as excellent oral and written communication skills
  • All applicants must address in their cover letters their commitment to equal opportunity and affirmative action and their ability to work with a culturally diverse population.
Preferred qualifications
  • Master's degree in history or related field
  • Knowledge of the history of the University at Albany
  • Supervisory experience
The successful candidate will be hired as an Assistant Librarian or as a Senior Assistant Librarian; rank will be determined by the candidate's qualifications. Although the job posting doesn't contain any detailed salary information, SUNY faculty are covered by a collective bargaining agreement and the salary ranges for librarian positions are publicly accessible. As of 1 July 2014, the salary range for Assistant Librarians is $40,137-$74,709 and the salary range for Senior Assistant Librarians is $46,003-$91,926. There is at least some room for negotiation within these ranges. 

Summary information about benefits is also readily accessible (FYI, "UUP" refers to United University Professions, the union that represents SUNY faculty).

The closing date for applications is 5 January 2015, and the successful candidate should expect to begin working in April 2015. For more information and detailed application instructions, consult the position description.

Full disclosure: I worked as a student assistant in UAlbany's Department of Special Collections and Archives several lifetimes ago. If you take this job, you'll probably oversee students charged with revising or expanding some of my very bad early finding aids.

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