Duties

The archivist will work on the Community Collections Grants (CCG) program, part of the Library’s Of The People: Widening the Path initiative. This is a multiyear initiative, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, to connect more deeply with Black, Hispanic, Indigenous and other minority communities by expanding the Library’s collections, using technology to enable storytelling, and offering more internship and fellowship opportunities. The Of the People: Widening the Path initiative creates new opportunities for more people to engage with the Library, thus weaving a more inclusive American story. This work will expand the Library’s efforts to ensure that a diversity of experiences is reflected in our historical record and inform how we use those materials to understand our past. The initiative is part of a larger vision at the Library to connect with all Americans by inviting new generations to participate in creating, preserving and sharing the nation’s cultural treasures and building on the Library’s commitment to collect and preserve more underrepresented perspectives and experiences. The American Folklife Center portion of the initiative funds program staff positions, subgrants to individuals and organizations involved in the contemporaneous documentation of historically underrepresented communities such as African-American, Indigenous, and other communities of color, and technology infrastructure to aid in community collections.

Accessions, arranges, and describes archival collections, in particular born-digital archival collections, demonstrating knowledge of contemporary archival theory and practice.
Possesses understanding of scholarly research and documentation practices and uses basic knowledge of archival theory and practice to process and describe archival collections.

Works closely with CCG awardees, AFC colleagues and other Library staff to accurately describe archival collections, utilizing community-generated metadata. Completes preliminary analysis of the documentation provided by CCG awardees, evaluates the significance of archival material in its cultural and historical context and applies evaluation in helping create a plan of arrangement and description. Exercises initiative on special assignments requiring knowledge of archival procedures.

Assembles information to help resolve administrative and legal matters affecting the arrangement and availability of collections. Applies prescribed criteria for the retention or disposition of duplicate and extraneous matter. Exercises archival digital content management practices to ensure the security and long-term viability of digital archival records. Produces detailed descriptive guides for research use online.

Helps direct the work of technicians and interns in processing collections. Instructs other staff in processing and monitors and reviews their work for productivity and accuracy. Consults with CCG awardees, staff folklife specialists, and other relevant specialists in formulating and implementing processing activities. Provides assessment to management of the scope and quality of work performed by processing technicians, interns, and other team members.

Maintains technical expertise in emerging technologies and implements tools to facilitate the creation and publication of finding aids and other descriptive information online.

Works to maintain personal contacts and cooperative work relationships to provide or exchange information. Coordinates as necessary with staff in other divisions relating to the transmission, handling, description, and storage of digital archival collections.

Attends workshops, conferences, seminars, or meetings in librarianship and other relevant fields to apply new and revised methods to work and ensure work is performed to current standards. While attending or participating in scholarly and professional societies or meetings/conferences, the incumbent contributes to the field by providing insights or relevant connections between Library collections and archival management practices.

Uses knowledge of prescriptive standards and guides to share straight-forward, easily identifiable technical information to individuals or groups. Recommends changes in procedures, workflows, and tools as they relate to manuscript, archival, and born digital collections.

Presents information to groups and individuals with a similar understanding of the subject.

Serves as a resource in the development of overall preservation program policies and goals. Helps promote collection security by recommending and implementing improved methods of manually or electronically marking and labeling collections.

Provides information in response to reference service requests. Assists readers, scholars and researchers in finding significant records relating to the subject under consideration and advises them of relevant records in the division and Library.

Performs other related duties as assigned.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

Library of Congress employees are prohibited from using illegal drugs, including marijuana. The Library is part of the Federal Government and abides by federal law, so regardless of individual state or District of Columbia laws, marijuana use is illegal, considered criminal activity, and can affect your employment at the Library. In addition, past or current drug use and activities (e.g., selling or distributing) may deem you ineligible for employment.

How You Will Be Evaluated

• Benefits

  A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

  Review our benefits

  Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

• Required Documents

  As a new or existing federal employee, you and your family may have access to a range of benefits. Your benefits depend on the type of position you have - whether you're a permanent, part-time, temporary or an intermittent employee. You may be eligible for the following benefits, however, check with your agency to make sure you're eligible under their policies.

  Current or former federal employees must submit their most recent Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50 or equivalent).

  Applicants with disabilities may be considered under special hiring procedures and must submit an appropriate certificate of eligibility when applying for this position. The proof or disability/certification may be issued by the State Vocational Rehabilitation Office, Disability Services or Career Services office of the applicant’s college or university, or the Department of Veterans Affairs. The letter must verify that the applicant has a severe disability and must be dated within three years of the date of the application. The program does not accept certification from health care providers. For more information contact the Library's Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity Programs at 202-707-6024 or email spp@loc.gov. FAILURE TO SUBMIT YOUR CERTIFICATION WILL CAUSE YOUR APPLICATION TO NOT BE CONSIDERED UNDER THE SELECTIVE PLACEMENT PROGRAM.

• How to Apply

  Please carefully follow all instructions under the How to Apply tab to ensure you are considered for the position.

  You are required to apply online for this announcement. We are unable to accept mailed or emailed documents. You must complete the entire application process, including submission of all documents BEFORE this announcement closes. To do so, complete the following steps.

  Step 1: If you do not already have one, create a resume on USAJOBS. Although you must enter your Social Security Number for USAJOBS, this information will not be provided to the Library of Congress.

  Step 2: Review the Job Announcement. We recommend you go to the end of the Qualification and Evaluation section of the job announcement to preview the online questions that you will answer in Step 4. You may wish to customize your USAJOBS resume to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions.

  Step 3: Click on the "APPLY ONLINE" button to the right of this announcement. Follow USAJOBS' instructions to access your account and submit your resume. You will be redirected to the Hiring Management website to complete the application process. If this is your first time in Hiring Management, you will be asked to answer questions related to your eligibility for Federal employment. You will be able to update this information and save it to our account for future announcements.

  Step 4: Once you have completed the eligibility questions, you will be taken directly to the vacancy application questions. Answer all questions honestly and thoroughly.

  Step 5: Hiring Management offers three options that will electronically attach your documentation to your online application once you finish answering the questions in the job announcement.
  (1) You may select a document that you have already uploaded to USAJOBS for a previous announcement.
  (2) You may electronically upload a document directly from your computer to your application. Be certain to review your complete application for confirmation of the document uploaded and click on "Finished" to be returned to USAJOBS.

  IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have multiple documents of the same kind, e.g. 2 undergraduate transcripts from different schools or 2 SF-50s, etc., be sure that they are all in the same file on your computer or in your USAJOBS profile before uploading them. If you try uploading them individually, only the last one sent will be visible in our system. If you have any questions about this information, please contact the person on this announcement BEFORE the closing date.

  Step 6: Click on "Finish" after you have completed your application. Once you have submitted your application, you can check your status online through your Hiring Management or MY USAJOBS account. Your complete online application and any required supplemental documentation (e.g., SF-50, etc.) must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on the closing date of the announcement. It is your responsibility to ensure that all documents are received on time and that the materials are readable. Failure to do so will result in your application being excluded from consideration for this announcement.

  If you are experiencing any technical difficulty with the online process, you MUST CONTACT THE POINT OF CONTACT FOR THIS ANNOUNCEMENT BEFORE THE CLOSING DATE. For all technical issues please contact jobhelp@loc.gov , no later than 4:30pm EST of the Closing Date. REQUESTS FOR EXTENSIONS WILL NOT BE GRANTED.

  Agency contact information

  Customer Service Center

  Phone

  202-707-5620

  Email

  JobHelp@loc.gov

  Address

  LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
  101 Independence Ave SE, Washington, DC 20540
  Washington, District of Columbia 20540
  United States

  Next steps

  Please review our evaluation process under Evaluation. You may check the status of your application for this position at any time by logging onto the USAJOBS "My USAJOBS" tab and clicking on "My Applications." You will receive final notification via e-mail when the vacancy has been filled.

• Fair and Transparent

  The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.

  • Criminal history inquiries
  • Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy
  • Financial suitability
  • New employee probationary period
  • Privacy Act
  • Reasonable accommodation policy
  • Selective Service
  • Signature and false statements
  • Social security number request

Required Documents

Clarification from the agency

Anyone may apply - By law, employment at most U.S. Government agencies, including the Library of Congress, is limited to U.S. citizens. However, non-citizens may be hired, provided that other legal requirements are met and the Library determines there are no qualified U.S. citizens available for the position.