Lead Metadata Archivist

Summary:

The Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America documents the lives of women of the past and present for the future and furthers the Radcliffe Institute’s commitment to the study of women, gender, sexuality, and society. The Archival Technical Services unit at Schlesinger Library fosters the discovery, use, and care of archival and manuscript materials through various activities including accessioning, processing, description, metadata creation, preservation, and collection management.

Archival Technical Services’ priorities reflect the Library’s ongoing work to document the history and contributions of women and organizations currently under-represented in our collections.

We are seeking a Lead Metadata Archivist who will coordinate work to modernize archival description workflows and advance our use of Archives Space and other archival metadata systems and tools. Reporting to the Head of Archival Technical Services, the Lead Metadata Archivist will collaborate with a dedicated team of experienced archivists to evaluate and improve our practices while reaffirming our existing strengths.

The Lead Metadata Archivist will coordinate and lead Schlesinger Library’s archival metadata program, streamlining the creation, reuse, and management of metadata for all archival formats.

Key responsibilities include:

• Analyzing metadata program needs, setting priorities in consultation with the department head, and developing archival metadata workflows in collaboration with colleagues using systems such as Archives Space, Alma, JSTOR Forum, and local File Maker databases.
• Providing training and coaching, and acting as a strategic partner to the department head and other lead archivists to help set department directions and foster cohesion and collaboration across program areas.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Leads collaborative work to establish, evaluate, recommend improvements to, document, and operationalize policies, procedures, and workflows for archival metadata in accordance with local and national standards.
• Designs, administers, and documents workflows for the description of archival materials in Archives Space, Alma, Connexion, local databases, and other library and archival management systems.
• Provides expertise and leadership for the department’s use of Archives Space, including training, coaching, and providing support for other members of the department, implementing policies and procedures, and collaborating with other Harvard repositories as required.
• Coordinates and oversees the creation, cleanup, quality control, management, and maintenance of metadata for archival collections across all library systems. Collaborates on metadata management for images and audiovisual materials.
• Leads metadata analysis and remediation projects and efforts to repurpose metadata for various uses, including for digitization. Develops, customizes, and maintains tools, scripts, and processes to manipulate, analyze, and transform metadata; migrate data between systems; and streamline metadata workflows.
• Collaborates on establishing and maintaining compliance with archival standards for descriptive metadata. Provides advice on metadata-related issues and creates documentation for staff use.
• Develops processes and procedures for creating item level metadata for special projects as needed; creates archival descriptions and item level metadata for a range of archival materials, including photographs and audiovisual materials. Applies best practices for inclusive and reparative description.
• Covers regular shifts at the Schlesinger Library reference desk.
• Monitors current developments, trends, and best practices in archival metadata and engages with the professional community. Fosters collaborative relationships within the department, across Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe, and the greater Harvard Library. Represents the department or library in various collaborative projects and programs within Harvard and beyond.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Supervises metadata archivist(s) and/or senior metadata archivist(s).
• Carries out supervisory responsibilities according to the Institute’s/University’s management…