Polar Archivist

SHIFT | Academic Hiring Posting Profile
Polar Archivist
University Libraries

Position Overview The Ohio State University Libraries is seeking a Polar Archivist to join a dynamic, responsive, and high-impact archival program, which strongly supports teaching and research at the university. The Polar Archivist manages the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival Program, leading engagement and teaching efforts with archival collections related to polar history and exploration to advance discovery and learning.

The Polar Archivist is responsible for promoting archival holdings through outreach, instruction, collection development, research and reference services, and cultivating partnerships that connect the Libraries’ expertise, resources, and services with the varying needs of a broad and varied constituency. The Polar Archivist provides liaison support to the faculty and students of the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center (Byrd Center).

The Polar Archivist is a crucial partner in the development and provision of teaching and research programs in polar history, exploration, and related subjects.

The Archives at the Libraries is home to the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival Program (BPA), founded with the acquisition of the papers of Admiral Richard

E. Byrd. Faculty, students, and an international community regularly utilize the BPA collections to create new knowledge and for education and scholarship.

• Actively engages and communicates effectively with faculty, students, and staff, developing strong working relationships and serving as an authoritative resource for those seeking teaching and research support with archival collections dealing with this history of polar exploration and current polar research.
• Provides research and teaching support to faculty, staff, and students of the Byrd Center. Serves as an active member of the Byrd Center and assists Center faculty and staff with programming and events.
• Supports and engages in fundraising, grant writing, marketing, and outreach that strengthen the Archives’ programs, in partnership with the Libraries’ Development Officer, the university’s Office of Advancement, and the Byrd Center.
• Seeks opportunities to collaborate with other academic departments to create meaningful and impactful strategies that incorporate archival holdings into the university’s teaching and research programs.
• Serves as subject expert to external scholars and advances connections to museums, archives, and public history institutions throughout the world.
• Advances collaborative relationships throughout the Libraries to increase discovery, access, and innovative uses of the BPA holdings.
• Actively develops local, regional, national, and international partnerships and collaborations to advance the strategic directions of the Libraries.
• Participates proactively on library-wide committees, task forces, and teams to integrate archival holdings into the Libraries’ wider strategic initiatives.
• Collaborates with other curators and subject librarians to develop interdisciplinary solutions to integrating distinctive intellectual content and services into the university’s wider academic environment.
• Contributes actively to scholarship in the archival field and other fields related to polar exploration through active professional engagement and research, presenting at professional and scholarly conferences, and publishing in appropriate venues.
• Is knowledgeable about and able to speak to a range of archival issues, including electronic records, digital initiatives, and the pedagogical importance of archival collections in undergraduate and graduate education.
• Is knowledgeable about and able to speak to handling and providing appropriate guidance and access to sensitive, restricted, or classified material.
• Participates in the Libraries’ exhibition program by curating gallery exhibitions focusing on polar exploration, responsible for exhibition displays at the Byrd Center.

University Libraries’ faculty and staff embrace Ohio State’s Shared Values and strive to enact the behaviors guided by those values in all that we do. This position is dedicated to advancing the culture of…