College Archivist

Purpose of the job:

The Archivist is responsible for the management and administration of the College Archives. The purpose of the role is to organise and preserve the College’s historic records and make them available for College administration, academic research and outreach activities. 

Main duties:

The following list of duties is indicative of the nature of the post. Priorities and time scales will be set in consultation with the Librarian as Line Manager and the Senior Tutor who has overall responsibility for Library & Archives.

• Develop the long-term strategy and medium-term plan for the College Archives which are located over several locations in the College.
• Write and regularly review policies and procedures for all aspects of Archives administration, and ensure all Archives procedures comply with relevant legal requirements, including copyright, data protection and Freedom of Information legislation.
• Supervise the part-time Archives Assistant and occasional part-time student volunteers.
• Continue to develop and implement procedures for the physical arrangement and cataloguing of the Archival collections and making the catalogue available online. The College administrative records are currently made available via an AtoM catalogue. Personal papers and photographic collections are currently made available via Archives Hub. The intention is to make all records available via the AtoM catalogue in the near future.
• Process and document all new accessions to the archive – received from alumni, College departments, from elsewhere in the University and from the general public – and continue to work through the existing cataloguing backlog.
• Answer enquiries from members of the College, external scholars and where appropriate the general public.
• Arrange for consultation of archival material by members of the College and by visiting researchers.
• Plan and manage the Archives budget which is held within the budget for the Library.
• Liaise with the College Records Manager and the Bursar’s Office to review the College’s records management policies relating to print and electronic records.
• Liaise with the College Records Manager and College Departments to ensure that College records are transferred to the Archives when required by records management procedures.
• Select material from the Archives for conservation and digitisation, and arrange and implement a programme of conservation and digitisation work by external agencies.
• Promote the Archives, for example through exhibitions, College publications and online.
• Be responsible for Health and Safety in the working areas controlled by the Archives.
• Maintain professional networks with Archivists in Cambridge and beyond.
• Undertake continuing professional development and training as required.
• Liaise with the College Records Manager, Head Porter and other colleagues to ensure the Archive collections are included in the College’s emergency and disaster recovery procedures. Undertake other duties relevant to the post as agreed with the Forbes Mellon Librarian.

September 2024

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