Archivist (Catalogue Data)
The National Archives Expired |
||
Kew, UK |
||
About the role:
You will be leading work on reducing The National Archives’ historic backlog of uncatalogued medieval and early modern records, collaborating with colleagues across The National Archives.
You will also contribute to the State of the Catalogue programme to address legacies of our transition from paper finding aids to digital catalogues, liaising with our records specialists.
You will provide significant support to the rest of the team and be able to contribute to our cataloguing activity more broadly.
About you:
We are looking for a skilled cataloguer with strong Excel skills. Some experience of working with medieval, early modern or legal records, including some knowledge of Latin, is essential.
You will be a team player but also able to work independently and to address competing priorities and meet deadlines.
You will have a professional qualification in archives and records management (or a related subject) or equivalent experience. Recently-qualified candidates and foundation-level members of the Archives and Records Association (FMARA) are welcome to apply.
This is a full-time post. However, requests for part-time working, flexible working and job share will be considered, taking into account at all times the operational needs of the department. A combination of onsite and home working is available. You should expect to spend at least 60% of your time working at our Kew site.
Role and Responsibilities
Essential
You will be leading work on reducing The National Archives’ historic backlog of uncatalogued medieval and early modern records, collaborating with colleagues across The National Archives.
You will also contribute to the State of the Catalogue programme to address legacies of our transition from paper finding aids to digital catalogues, liaising with our records specialists.
You will provide significant support to the rest of the team and be able to contribute to our cataloguing activity more broadly.
About you:
We are looking for a skilled cataloguer with strong Excel skills. Some experience of working with medieval, early modern or legal records, including some knowledge of Latin, is essential.
You will be a team player but also able to work independently and to address competing priorities and meet deadlines.
You will have a professional qualification in archives and records management (or a related subject) or equivalent experience. Recently-qualified candidates and foundation-level members of the Archives and Records Association (FMARA) are welcome to apply.
This is a full-time post. However, requests for part-time working, flexible working and job share will be considered, taking into account at all times the operational needs of the department. A combination of onsite and home working is available. You should expect to spend at least 60% of your time working at our Kew site.
Role and Responsibilities
- Historic cataloguing backlog: To carry out surveys of uncatalogued series, identifying appropriate cataloguing methods and referencing systems.
- Historic cataloguing backlog: To catalogue records from scratch, working closely with colleagues to make sure that the records are accessioned and adequately described. Where necessary, complete a simple collection care assessment and label and repackage some records.
- State of the Catalogue: To become responsible for the data quality assessment and corrective work required for descriptions of records proposed for digitisation by commercial partners.
- State of the Catalogue: To plan and carry out other large-scale data enhancements using spreadsheets. Proactively identify series in need of data enhancement work, devise appropriate solutions for data problems, apply various data manipulation techniques in Excel and check original records where necessary.
- To liaise with colleagues across The National Archives regarding the improvement of catalogue content and functionality.
- To support approved cataloguing projects making sure that deadlines are met and the data is ingested into the catalogue.
- To support the team in the provision of statistical data for team reporting purposes.
- To support the rest of the team when the need arises: for example in the investigation of catalogue queries in response to user feedback, to contribute to urgent catalogue enhancement work and to cover as Managing Editor on assigned days.
Essential
- Professional qualification in archives and records management (or a related subject) or equivalent experience, with a passion and enthusiasm for records, finding aids and search tools.
- Significant experience of cataloguing in an archival context, with thorough knowledge of descriptive standards and presentational requirements.
- Excellent IT skills, in particular experience of back office cataloguing systems (for example Calm or AtoM) and expert knowledge of Microsoft Excel for data management, coupled with a strong ability to look at information as data.
- Palaeography skills including the ability to read and decipher 14th-19th century handwriting and to transcribe basic information from legal Latin.
- Excellent problem-solving and organisational skills coupled with the ability to work to a high degree of accuracy, attention to detail and consistency.
- Excellent communication skills; a team player able to communicate directly with customers and colleagues across The National Archives.
- Able to work under pressure and meet deadlines, with a strong focus on delivering results that benefit The National Archives public service.
- Interest in the application of new technologies for preserving and providing access to archives.
- Awareness of content sensitivity and commitment to information security.
- Understanding of medieval and early modern dating system and legal terms.