Archives and Special Collections Specialist at the South Street Seaport Museum
Job Title: Archives and Special Collections Specialist
Job Status: Full-time
Location: New York, NY
Salary: $53,000 to $60,000
South Street Seaport Museum, located in the heart of the South Street Seaport Historic District in New York City, preserves and interprets the history of New York as a great port city. Founded in 1967, the Museum houses an extensive collection of works of art and artifacts, a maritime archive and reference library, exhibition galleries, and education spaces, working 19th-century print shops, and an active fleet of historic vessels that all work to tell the story of “Where New York Begins.” seaportmuseum.org
Job Summary
The Archives and Special Collection Specialist works closely with the Director of Collections and Exhibitions to document, preserve, and make accessible archival materials to researchers, staff, and anyone interested and inspired by the institution’s history and mission.
The Specialist cares for a wide range of special collections formats (including but not limited to photographs, ephemera, scrapbooks and rare books, atlases and maps, ship plans, audiovisual materials, and more), time periods, and subject matter; helps develop new policies and strategies; prioritizes and implements digitization and preventive conservation; and responds to inquiries from researchers.
The Specialist works collaboratively with Collections, Exhibitions, and other department staff and stakeholders to provide content to support programs and exhibitions development.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
- Coordinate yearly inventory of special collections and archival materials, including arranging, describing, and rehousing according to institutional standards, in conjunction with Collections and Exhibitions Department staff members.
- Be an active member of the Collections and Exhibitions Department’s team with regard to exhibition planning, emergency preparedness, and general storage housekeeping.
- Coordinate Institutional Archive description and retention.
- Digitize materials in-house and/or liaise with digitization vendor(s).
- Maintains and identifies backlog processing priorities with particular attention to integration of archival documentation with collection management databases.
- Be an active participant of the Collections and Curatorial Meetings, researching, evaluating, and advising on archival acquisitions, deaccessions, and archival collections development.
- Assess, strategize, and organize the Museum’s collections information that are not recorded in the current collection management database, including but not limited to servers and IT infrastructure, hard copy archival files, and audiovisual materials in coordination with Museum’s organizational long-term planning.
- Facilitate external research requests, both in person and remotely.
Additional Responsibilities
- Serve as collection database administrator for the database’s Archives module, including development and maintenance of data entry standards; providing training and support for users; generating checklists and reports; and overseeing system upgrades.
- Creating collections-based content for the Museum’s social media accounts and/or blogs.
- Co-supervise interns or volunteers in cataloging, digitizing, and rehousing materials.
- Performs any other duties reasonably related to the functions described above.
Personal qualifications
- Master’s degree in library and information science or MA with a concentration in archives
- Minimum 2 years of relevant work and/or internship experience
- Demonstrated experience with processing and preservation of archival materials
- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Demonstrated ability to work independently as well as part of a team, with flexibility and creative thinking
- Proficiency in Google platforms, Microsoft Office, collections databases, and other standard office procedures and equipment
Preferred but Non-Mandatory Qualifications
- Familiarity and interest in maritime history and culture
- Familiarity with Library of Congress classification
- Experience with DAMs, digital preservation, and metadata management and migration
- Experience in art collection management and/or registration for museums or art galleries
- Experience in art handling and exhibition installation
- Experience with social media content creation
Physical Demands and Work Environment
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions. Applicants must be able to:
- Lift and move boxes weighing up to 50 pounds.
- Climbing stairs on a regular basis.
Compensation/Benefits
This is a full-time, non-exempt position, salaried at $53,000-$60,000 per year, based on experience.
How to Apply
Email your resume, cover letter, and three reference contact information in one PDF document with “Archives and Special Collections Specialist Application” in the subject line to careers@seany.org.
Applications without an attached cover letter will not be considered.
Deadline for submitting applications is Friday, March 1, 2024 5pm ET. No phone calls, please.
South Street Seaport Museum is an equal-opportunity employer. Non-traditional applicants and/or those with suitable alternatives to the above criteria are encouraged to apply. The Seaport Museum strongly encourages applications from members of groups underrepresented in careers related to museums; we seek to foster a collaborative and respectful work environment with a staff as diverse as New York City and our audience.