The Plains, Virginia
Posted: 20-May-25
Location: The Plains, Virginia
Type: Part Time
Salary: $25-$45
Categories:
Pay Frequency:
Job Title: Private Part-Time Archivist (Special Focus: Civil Rights Movement)
Location: The Plains, Virginia
Job Type: Part-Time | Contract | Flexible Hours
About the Position:
A private family is seeking a knowledgeable and meticulous part-time archivist to catalog, preserve, and research a personal collection of materials related to the Civil Rights Movement (1950s– late 1960s). The role will involve hands-on archival work, research, and support of digitization and family history initiatives, with the potential to make the archive accessible to select outside researchers and institutions.
Key Responsibilities:
Organization & Cataloging:
- Inventory, label, and properly store historical documents, photographs, letters, newspapers, audio recordings, and memorabilia.
- Develop and maintain a digital and/or physical catalog system to ensure items are easily accessible and well documented.
- Maintenance of Ownership, Governance, Mission, and Institutional Protocols.
Preservation:
- Assess and recommend proper preservation methods for fragile or deteriorating items.
- Implement archival-quality storage solutions.
Research & Contextualization:
- Conduct historical and contextual research on key figures, events, or documents within the collection.
- Draft clear and concise item descriptions, historical summaries, and content tags to enrich the archive’s interpretive value.
Digitization Projects:
- Lead or assist in the planning and execution of digitization efforts for photographs, documents, audio, and video.
- Establish metadata standards and naming conventions to ensure searchability and integrity.
- Manage digital file storage and recommend best practices for long-term digital preservation.
Facilitating Outside Research:
- Support controlled access to the collection for vetted researchers, scholars, or students.
- Prepare finding aids or research guides to help outside users navigate the archive.
- Respond to occasional research inquiries and assist in curating materials for external review or exhibition.
- Collection is not currently open to public research and visitors.
Family Engagement & Legacy Building:
- Work with family members to incorporate oral histories, personal narratives, and family context into the archive.
- Develop user-friendly access tools or annotated timelines to make the collection more engaging for future generations.
- Help design family-focused presentations or memory-sharing initiatives centered on the materials.
Qualifications:
- Degree in Archival Studies, History, Library Science, Museum Studies, or a related field (Master’s preferred but not required).
- Strong knowledge or demonstrated interest in Civil Rights.
- Hands-on experience with archival organization, metadata creation, and preservation techniques.
- Familiarity with digitization processes and digital asset management tools.
- Excellent research and writing skills.
- Strong interpersonal communication and discretion, particularly when working with private family materials.
- Ability to work independently and self-direct projects.
Preferred Experience:
- Experience working with private or family archives.
- Background in oral history or public history projects.
- Familiarity with platforms like PastPerfect, ArchiveSpace, or Omeka.
Compensation:
Commensurate with experience. Competitive hourly rate. $25-$45/hr
To Apply:
Please send a cover letter outlining your relevant experience and interest in civil rights history, a résumé or CV, three references, and one sample of archival work or research (if available) to archivist@currierfamilyarchive.org.