DLA

University Archives/Special Collections Librarian

Delaware State University
Job Description

Title: University Archivist/Special Collections Librarian
Date: July 2021                                                              Eligible for Overtime: No
Salary Plan and Grade: Librarian I or II

General Description of the Position
To direct and administer activities involved in the acquisition, arrangement, description, preservation and dissemination of records pertaining to, or generated by, Delaware State University.

Essential Functions
The following are the functions essential to performing this job:
1. Management of the university archives on multiple campuses which consists of African American resources and the history of the university through the arrangement, description, storage, and preservation of archival materials including photographs, documents, newsprint, born-digital records, 3-dimensional artifacts, and a rare books collection.
2. Engages in archival appraisal to ensure compliance to an established mission statement and collecting policy. Responsibly handles confidential materials and makes appropriate disposition recommendations.
3. Participates in research initiatives utilizing African American resources and archival records in order to advance public understanding of Delaware State University and its HBCU legacy to support the goals and mission of the broader university.
4. Advocates for proper preservation metrics and best practices. Responsible for the safekeeping of archival records and special collections resources.
5. Engages in outreach initiatives among students, faculty, administrators, and public user groups. Acts as a liaison between records creators and user groups for purposes of publication, exhibition, etc.
6. Ably prepares reference documents such as finding aids and subject guides. Maintains thorough administrative documentation as pertains to acquisitions and records transfers, records retention schedules, reference interactions, copyright negotiations, and finances, etc.
7. Responsible for maintaining a digital repository of digitized archival holdings including scanning, metadata, etc. (DSpace, Dublin Core, LCSH)
8. Acts as facilitator between the department and the broader library, effectively advocating for both.
9. Performs other related duties as assigned by the Executive Director for Library Services.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
The individual in this job must possess these skills and abilities or be able to explain and demonstrate that they can perform the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodation using some other combination of skills and abilities independently of supervision:
1. Experience strengthening the collection through acquisition or soliciting donations of collections for the University Archives and Special Collections Department.
2. A firm knowledge/deep familiarity of archives and records management theory, practices and) archival descriptive metadata schema (EAD, MODS and Dublin Core), content standards (DACS), as well as knowledge of best practices in use by special collections professionals.
3. Knowledge of (current practices in) archival preservation, management, collection management software, such as CONTENTdm or other software, and emerging technologies and their application in academic libraries, archives and special collections.
4. Substantial experience with all aspects of grant administration including applications, management, finance, and reporting.
5. Ability to be flexible in a rapidly changing environment and to work effectively and collaboratively within the library, the university, and the community.
6. Experience identifying priorities and finding creative solutions to challenges.
7. A firm knowledge of African American history and culture.
8. Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills.
9. Knowledge of the current copyright law and its application in libraries and universities.

Qualification Standards
1. Education: Master’s of Library Science degree accredited by the American Library Association.
2. Successful experience: Five to seven years of full-time professional library experience working with archives and special collections or an HBCU with African American resources.

Performance Standards:
The criteria for evaluation in this position include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. Demonstrated knowledge of DSU fundamentals.

Note: The University reserves the right to change or reassign job duties as provided in policy and negotiated agreements.

PDF of above job position.

Posted: 1/6/23