What are the responsibilities and job description for the Digital Archive Assistant position at Freedom on the Move?
Freedom on the Move is offering graduate and advanced undergraduate students an opportunity to work on newspaper archives related to enslaved runaways onsite at the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester. DAAs will spend five hours per day finding and digitizing documents that document both Black freedom-seeking efforts and the history of racialized policing. Work will be onsite in Worcester, MA. DAAs will be hired for a minimum of four weeks and a maximum of 16 weeks, depending on their own scheduled availability in the summer months, with timeslots available from the beginning of May to the end of August. Additionally, we have a limited number of opportunities for DAAs to work for short periods between January and May. While onsite each DAA will work for 25 or more paid hours per week, at an hourly rate of $27/hour.
Specific duties include:
- Photographing and scanning a variety of original materials while following set standards; perform set-up functions, scan pages, and save files in standard formats for storage and display.
- Digitize archival materials in various formats
- Create descriptive information for digital objects and collections
- Edit and convert digital files with Adobe Creative Suite and/or similar software
- Assist other students and staff with digitization projects
- Special projects as identified
Minimum Qualifications (Required)
- Good organizational and communication skills
- History/African-American Studies/Africana focus
- Attention to detail
- Dependability
- Interest in archival research. (DAAs can also use off-clock hours while the AAS is open to conduct their own in-person research at the AAS)
- Willingness to work with a team, receive feedback, and mentor others
Interested applicants should send a cover letter, c.v./resume, and the names and contact information of two references to FOTM@cornell.edu. Please include your dates of availability in your cover letter. We are accepting applications now, and hiring will continue until all positions are filled.
Job Types: Part-time, Temporary
Pay: $27.00 per hour
Expected hours: 25 per week
Schedule:
- 4 hour shift
Work Location: In person