Archives & Manuscripts Processing Assistant

The University of Chicago Library

 Division: Special Collections Research Center
Section: Archives and Manuscripts
Position: Archives & Manuscripts Project Processing Assistant
Schedule (Hrs/Week): 19.5

Responsibilities:

Under the direction of the Processing Archivist:

• Conducts research into the individuals and academic disciplines represented by the collections;
• Composes historical and biographical narratives and collection scope descriptions and compiles systematic lists of box and folder headings.
• Identifies material to be restricted in accordance with University administrative restriction policy, Office of Legal Counsel, and federal laws, including FERPA and HIPAA, and donor gift agreements.
• Identifies damaged or physically vulnerable materials and refers for appropriate preservation treatment;
• Performs physical processing and arrangement of materials;
• Prepares draft finding aids for archival and manuscript collections;
• Identifies duplicate and extraneous material for disposition;
• Ensures proper labeling and barcoding of all containers for both circulation and possible transfer to the Automated Storage and Retrieval facility;
• Performs other projects as assigned, such as creating accession inventories for incoming archival and manuscript collections in accordance with established departmental guidelines, or other collection management activities.

Qualifications:

• Graduate student in humanities, social sciences, or related field, required.
• Library experience, preferred.
• Excellent research and writing skills, required.
• Ability to conceptualize and organize large collections in diverse formats, required.
• Ability to balance attention to detail and accuracy with a high level of productivity, required.
• Sensitivity to issues of privacy and confidentiality in dealing with restricted archival and manuscript material, required.
• Care in handling rare and fragile materials, required.
• Ability to work independently and cooperatively with others, required.
• Ability to lift 40-pound box essential.
• Experience with web browsers and Microsoft Office.

Return to student job opportunities