Manager, Archival Accessioning
Full Time $90,000 - $95,000 / yearJob Overview
Overview
The mission of The New York Public Library is to inspire lifelong learning, advance knowledge, and strengthen our communities, and we rely on three great resources–our staff, our collections, and our physical and digital spaces–to provide opportunities for learning and growth. The research centers offer unparalleled opportunities to engage with in-depth and unique collections, inspirational reading rooms, exhibitions, programs, and a range of research services.
The mission of The New York Public Library is to inspire lifelong learning, advance knowledge, and strengthen our communities, and we rely on three great resources–our staff, our collections, and our physical and digital spaces–to provide opportunities for learning and growth. The research centers offer unparalleled opportunities to engage with in-depth and unique collections, inspirational reading rooms, exhibitions, programs, and a range of research services.
Special Collections Processing (SCP) department promotes access to the Library’s most distinctive collections by describing and preparing rare and unique materials for discovery and use. Archival Processing (AP) is the team within SCP that supports access to archival collections and their preservation by arranging and describing archives and manuscripts, creating finding aids for research use, managing the ArchivesSpace Staff Interface, accessioning new acquisitions, remediating legacy archival description, and managing archival metadata across systems.
The Manager, Archival Accessioning oversees all aspects of archival accessioning across the Research Libraries. They support access to archival collections by establishing immediate physical and intellectual control of new acquisitions and managing accessioning workflows in ArchivesSpace. Additionally, this role is responsible for supervising archival processing staff, including processing small collections at the point of accessioning, and ensuring daily operations align with institutional priorities and national best practices.
While based at the Library Services Center (LSC) in Long Island City, Queens, the Manager works across the organization to accession archival acquisitions and backlog collections in all formats, including audio and moving image recordings and born-digital media. The Manager supports new archival acquisitions, collaborating with Curators, Special Collections Acquisitions Operations, and Collection Management staff for site visits and collection packing.
We are looking for someone we can count on to:
Own:
- The day-to-today accessioning operations to support archival processing priorities and institutional goals for collections access
- The management of accessioning workflows and metadata in ArchivesSpace
Teach:
- Train staff and stakeholders in accessioning best practices, standards, workflows, and the use of the ArchivesSpace accessioning module
Learn:
- The range of special collections at NYPL and the needs of each curatorial unit to ensure that accessioning and processing workflows and policies align with each center’s priorities
Improve:
- Accessioning workflows to support archival description, including for audio and moving image and born-digital materials
- Training on archival standards and systems to ensure all staff understand the integral and essential function accessioning has in processing workflows
Some expectations for this role are that within:
1 month, this person will:
- Understand the scope of work in AP and the integral role of accessioning in that work
- Meet acquisitions and curatorial staff to learn the scope and scale of new archival acquisitions and backlog projects
3 months, this person will:
- Meet with the managers in each department in Collections and Research Services to determine shared workflows and the ways in which each collaborates with AP
- Visit each research center and meet key curatorial partners and other stakeholders
- Meet with AP’s partners in Digital and participate in planning conversations for an ArchiveSpace upgrade and data migration
- Begin work on updating accessioning documentation and workflows in alignment with the Society of American Archivists’ Accessioning Best Practices
- Lead efforts to transition all archival accessioning activities into ArchivesSpace
- Work as an active partner with the Senior Manager to identify and manage accessioning and processing priorities
6 months and beyond, this person will:
- Create and document new workflows to support migration of all archival accessioning activities into the ArchivesSpace staff interface
- Establish workflows for processing collections under five linear feet at the point of accessioning
- Identify and contribute recommendations for improved accessioning workflows, collaboration, and projects to Collections and Research Services teams and curatorial partners
- Develop training for public service staff, curators, and other stakeholders in using ArchivesSpace to identify collection locations and to search accessioning data
- Collaborate with Digital Archives on workflows to transfer, accession, and image born-digital materials, and with Audio and Moving Preservation to support digitization priorities in alignment with the archival processing queue and curatorial priorities
Responsibilities
- Supervise processing staff and manage archival accessioning for both new acquisitions and backlog collections, ensuring alignment with national standards and curatorial processing priorities
- Establish physical, legal, and intellectual control of incoming archival acquisitions
- Migrate all archival accessioning workflows into ArchivesSpace, and oversee accessioning functionality in the ArchivesSpace Staff Interface
- Develop and maintain documentation for archival accessioning in ArchivesSpace on AP’s public GitHub documentation site
- Work in collaboration with Collection Management to facilitate location management and physical storage for all new and backlog archival acquisitions
- Work in collaboration with Conservation to identify and remediate materials that require custom housing or conservation treatment
- Create and manage systems for tracking and reporting accessioning metrics
- Coordinate and participate in site visits and pre-custodial appraisal activities in collaboration with Curators and the Senior Manager, Special Collections Acquisitions Operations
- Represent NYPL on committees in professional organizations, and actively contribute to the field by participation in these professional organizations
- Perform other related duties as assigned
Required Education, Experience & Skills
Required Education & Certifications
ALA-accredited Master’s degree in Library and Information Science or a Master's degree with successful completion of archival training
Required Experience
- 5+ years of experience in an archives or manuscripts repository working with collections of personal papers and organizational records for collections of varying size, complexity, format, and condition
- 3+ years experience supervising staff and managing projects
- Experience accessioning archival collections in all formats (analog, digital, and audio and moving image), and a strong background in archival processing and theory
- Experience with efficient and extensible approaches for accessioning, appraisal, and processing of archival collections
- Experience developing and conducting staff training in archival systems and standards
Required Skills
- Knowledge of current issues and emerging trends in archives, including the SAA endorsed Archival Accessioning Best Practices and OCLC’s Total Cost of Stewardship
- Strong organizational and project management skills
- Demonstrated knowledge of current standards for archival description, cataloging, and archival metadata (DACS, EAD, MARC 21, RDA, DCRM, LCSH, LCNAF, AAT, TGM)
- Strong working knowledge of descriptive tools and systems (ArchivesSpace, FTK, OCLC Connexion, Sierra, RDA Toolkit, MARCEdit)
- Familiarity with scripting and querying languages such as SQL and Python
- Experience managing and versioning documentation, particularly in GitHub
- Experience with project management tools including Trello, AirTable, and JIRA
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills: ability to listen actively, speak, and write clearly
- Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
Managerial/Supervisory Responsibilities
- 4-6 full-time direct reports
- Conducting project management and staff trainings