ARCHIVIST

The Boston Children’s Museum Archivist position ensures the preservation, growth, and access to the museum’s archival holdings. The Archivist also collaborates with colleagues across the Museum to enhance and support teaching and learning opportunities using the Museum’s rich resources. The Archivist reports directly to the Director of Collections and Archives as part of the Arts and Social Impact team, which is responsible for developing and delivering artistic explorations and cultural experiences for all museum constituents, including children and adult visitors and those external to the Museum (educators, caregivers, families) who use our resources, including schools and community organizations.

The Archivist is responsible for managing the Museum's Institutional Archives and will oversee archival processing, assist with reference requests, and facilitate records transfers across the Museum. The Archivist will assist in developing policies and procedures to guide acquisition/deaccession, retention, preservation, and digitization efforts of archival holdings. Primary responsibilities include, but are not limited to, gaining intellectual control of archival materials, including processing, rehousing, inventorying, and ongoing discovery;

digitization through scanning and photography; writing finding aids as well as editing previous versions; providing internal and external access for research use, including tracking rights and reproduction requests as needed; and generally assisting with ongoing outreach efforts to expand awareness and use.

As part of the Collections team, the Archivist will attend regular team, department, project, and all staff meetings as required. Projects may include supporting grants, exhibits, programs, or philanthropy needs. The Archivist will also work Museum-wide to implement the records retention schedule for physical and digital records, assist with ongoing digital maintenance, and the development of strategies for long-term digital preservation, in collaboration with the Director of Collections and Archives.

In addition, as part of the Collections Team, the Archivist will gain familiarity with the collection holdings, assisting with general storage maintenance/upkeep, and assisting visitors and staff. Additional tasks may be assigned as needed.

• 50% Processing Archival Records
  • Process, describe, and arrange archival collections with folder-level inventories and DACS-compliant finding aids.
  • Evaluate the general physical condition of archival materials and rehouse as needed;
    Track materials in current or upcoming use.
  • Add/update archives inventories content in the Airtable database.
• 25% Appraisal and Transfer
  • Maintain archives policies and procedures for ongoing discovery, acquisition, deaccession, preservation, and digitization;
    Recommend updates to policies and procedures in keeping with best practices in the field.
  • With Director, coordinate with staff at all levels to facilitate management and transfer of Museum's records.
  • Supervise interns working on archival projects
• Outreach: 25%
  • Respond to internal and external research requests
  • Along with Collections staff and external partners work on design and installation of displays which may feature from both Collections and Archives.
  • Participate in programming for visitors, which includes leading, planning, or staffing programs undertaken by the collections and archives team as well as supporting other teams programming.
  • Participate and support the Collections Board Committee meetings on-site or off-site as needed.
  • Assist with visitors in Collections office/storage as well as with day to day maintenance of the space.
  • Support institutional and departmental initiatives, goals and operations. Collaborate with Museum leadership to further the Museum’s mission, and to ensure a cohesive staff culture. Participate in required all-staff activities, discussions, meetings, and trainings.

• Model the Museum’s values
• Demonstrate the Museum’s commitment to maintaining Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in all activities
• Demonstrate strong, clear, and respectful communication, teamwork, and collaboration
• Demonstr…