Crownsville Hospital Archives Project: Lead Archivist

SALARY:

Up to $44/hour based on education, experience, and certifications.

CONTRACT DURATION:

One year with option to renew for two additional years as per grant funding. Extension after the closing of the grant is based on funding availability.

JOB DETAIL:

The Office of Planning and Zoning is hiring a contractual Lead Archivist. The primary role of this position is to implement a grant the County was awarded from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) titled Anne Arundel County, Maryland: Crownsville Hospital Historic Documentation and Storytelling Project.

Work may include but not be limited to:

• Achieving the performance objectives set forth by NHPRC. (Project ED-104987-24), as well as maintaining quality control, and activity/fiscal records for all grant-related deliverables;
• Creating a central historical and archival public repository with virtual and physical access to documents regarding the Crownsville Hospital;
• Establishing policies and procedures for managing archival and historical materials, digital materials and collections and related artifacts and ephemera for ingest, storage, preservation, organization, description, and access
  • Setting standard operating procedures (SOPs) for accessioning, cataloging, curating, conserving and displaying materials;
  • Ensure quality control for all deliverables and accessions;
  • Determining the appropriate organization and digital storage structure, analyzing the intellectual content of the source material, and conducting historical research for the preparation of metadata descriptions;
  • Compiling finding aids, creating collection-level records or metadata descriptions, creating finding aids or controlled vocabularies to assist online researchers, and maintaining a database on collections and storage space allocation.
  • Promoting knowledge and use of the collections.
  • Managing collections development activities (maintaining donor contacts, conducting field surveys, appraising potential collections, collaborating with staff from the Maryland State Archives, and acquiring/accessioning collections which meet collection development policies.)
  • Preserving the intellectual and artifactual value of physical archival material by determining and making recommendations for conservation or treatment, such as document cleaning, repair, deacidification, and humidification. (The collections include large objects, furniture, artwork, and artifacts that will require special treatment.)
• Creating a robust, searchable web-based "Crownsville Hospital Digital Archive" to be housed on the Anne Arundel County website. This platform will be developed in coordination with other County staff, including the Office of Information Technology;

The position will report directly to the Crownsville Hospital Public History Manager, who will work under the direction of the Program Administrator for the Cultural Resources Section in the Office of Planning and Zoning. The position is hybrid, with the primary work location being the Crownsville Archives and Collections warehouse and office in Annapolis, MD. Duties will require remote and off site work locations including the Hospital campus in Crownsville, the Maryland State Archives, and in the community.

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE/EDUCATION:

A Masters in Library Science (MLS) from an American Library Association (ALA) accredited program or a graduate degree in library information science, collections or archives management, museum studies, public history or a closely related discipline. Graduate-level coursework in archival administration and/or continuing education in the Digital Archives space preferred. Significant (10-plus years) of demonstrated experience in lieu of a degree will be considered.

Two or more years of experience curating and processing physical and digital archival collections, creating metadata descriptions, digitization, and care of born-digital materials.

Experience working with archival collections documenting the stories of historically marginalized communities, and with digital and online presentation of complex and sensitive historical topics.

Knowledge of best practices and trends in oral history.

General knowledge of best practices in public history, community archives, historic interpretation and interpretive planning, and museum practices.

A successful applicant should also have:

• Strong project management, organizational, and communication skills;
• Ability to work both remotely and onsite at any Anne Arundel County location;
• Ability to work both independently and as a member of a team;
• A sound understanding of regional African American history, segregation and/or mental health in the US during the Jim Crow era, and
• Familiarity with best practices in oral history to support the needs of the oral history consultants and the projects' Oral History Research Associate.

Given the history of Crownsville, a successful candidate should be able to articulate an acute awareness of how to effectively interact with the public when addressing difficult historical topics, and be cognizant of how to sensitively work with under-represented histories and communities.

Application Instructions: Send a letter of interest, curriculum vitae/resume, a writing sample, and a portfolio or work samples to pzpomp22@aacounty.org.