Assistant Archivist

Job Title:	Assistant Archivist
Opening Date/Time:	Fri. 05/01/15 12:00 AM Pacific Time
Closing Date/Time:	Fri. 05/15/15 4:30 PM Pacific Time
Salary:	$25.90 - $32.84 Hourly
Job Type:	Term Limited Temporary, Full Time, 35 hrs/wk
Location:	King County Administration Building - 500 4th Ave, Seattle, Washington
Department:	Department of Executive Services - Records & Licensing Services Division

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Summary  Benefits  Supplemental Questions

King County’s Executive Services, Records and Licensing Division is seeking an experienced candidate for the Term-Limited Temporary (TLT) position in the Archives, Records Management, and Mail Services section. This position will support the implementation of the King County Archives’ new collection management system, in order to ensure quality of migrated data and to provide online public access to archival descriptions and selected archival records. The successful candidate must have a thorough understanding of archival description in an electronic system, which includes data analysis, quality control, data entry, data uploads and migration, researching and writing scope and content notes and agency histories, report development, and user documentation.    The candidate must work effectively in teams, collaborate with management, recommend and coordinate implementation of systems or methods to improve customer service and office operations.     About Records and Licensing Services (RALS): RALS is a learning organization committed to continuously improving both what we do and how we do it. We provide high quality and efficient service and strive to exceed our customer’s and stakeholders expectations. RALS employees are ready, willing and able to provide excellent service, are enthusiastic and fully involved in continuously improving RALS.    RALS Mission Statement:  Manage current, inactive and historic records and information assets in compliance with laws, regulations and industry standards. RALS Vision Statement: A leader in service excellence, committed to building and enduring legacy of continuous improvement and employee engagement.   WHO MAY APPLY: This position is open to all qualified candidates.   FORMS AND MATERIALS REQUIRED: Please submit a (1) completed on-line King County Application Form responding to the supplemental questions and (2) resume and (3) a letter of interest. The letter of interest should detail your background and describe how your education and experience meets the qualifications and has prepared you to perform the essential functions of the job.  Applications that are incomplete may not be considered. SELECTION PROCESS: Competitive career service members of Teamsters, Local 117 PT shall receive first consideration and as career service employees, additional consideration.  The applications will be screened for completeness and required qualifications. Applicants rated the most competitive will be invited for an interview.   WORK LOCATION: The position will work, primarily, at the King County Archives Building located at 1215 East Fir Street, Seattle, WA 98122   WORK SCHEDULE:This Term Limited Temporary position works a 35 hour work week, Monday through Friday. This position is FLSA non-exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act and is overtime eligible. WHO TO CONTACT:   If you have questions about this position, please contact Lori McGill at (206) 263-2916 or via email lori.mcgill@kingcounty.gov.

Job Duties:

The Assistant Archivist will perform a range of duties that will follow the progress of the Collection Management System project, as outlined below.  Review and update collection descriptions, comparing data to physical Archives collection. Participate in developing plans for reviewing and standardizing unstructured data. Develop processes to identify missing and inaccurate data. Compare data from multiple sources, including hand-written logs and various MS Office formats (Excel, Access, Word). Develop methods to combine data from multiple electronic sources. Draft and edit series and record group descriptions Research County government history using the King County Archives collection and outside sources. Develop processes to normalize data according to established standards. Track, troubleshoot and resolve data and system functionality problems and issues of limited scope; communicate with Archivist and vendor to resolve complex issues. Assist in the development of and documentation of new procedures and descriptive standards. Develop queries and reports in response to business needs. Create records in a specified import format from varied sources (hand-written/typed, MS Office files, PDFs). Import data into system and perform quality control on results. Output finding aids and perform quality control, make corrections to reports as required. Evaluate quality of digital scans and photographs and edit using Adobe Acrobat and image editing software, including in batch mode. Develop quality control reports using a custom query language (Boolean logic). Assist in development of custom reports from Collection Management System.

Experience, Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills:

The ideal candidate will have: One year experience using, implementing, and/or administering a collection management system, catalog, or similar application in an archives, library, records office, or museum setting. Ability to interpret and apply descriptive and technical metadata standards, including Dublin Core, Encoded Archival Description, Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS), AACR2, and MARC21. Understanding of archival research needs. Understanding of the search and retrieval implications of different approaches to description. Familiarity with archival workflow. Knowledge of relational databases and data models. Skill in performing routine troubleshooting and technical problem solving. Medium-advanced to advanced technical skill in common office tools, including but not limited to MS Excel and MS Access, including use of formulas in spreadsheets and reports, designing and modifying database queries, and creating and modifying custom macros in MS Word for batch processing. Understanding of Boolean search logic. General knowledge of logic in structured query language and modern online search systems. Skill in verbal and written communication, including knowledge of English spelling, rules of grammar, and appropriate vocabulary usage. Ability to edit written English for readability, clarity, and accuracy. Attention to detail: ability to interpret, proof, and correctly assign alphabetical, numeric, and alpha-numeric codes and filing systems. Ability to learn to use custom software applications. Skill in interpreting instructional manuals, guidelines, and procedures. Skill in writing system documentation and technical reports. Skill in handling competing priorities and producing quality work within tight timeframes. Skill in analytical thinking and problem solving. Organizational and basic project management skills. Skill in working effectively and cooperatively with non-technical staff. Ability to conduct research using a variety of sources. Knowledge of government records and systems.

Supplemental Information:

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS Ability to write and execute queries in MS SQL to generate data sets and reports on data from multiple tables in a relational database. Ability to create and edit compliant XML and experience using XML editing software to generate EAD finding aids. Ability to apply a variety of data management tools and techniques, including scripting batch processes for manipulating structured and unstructured data and electronic files. One year experience using descriptive and technical metadata standards to describe archives records, including Dublin Core, Encoded Archival Description, Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS), AACR2, and MARC. Experience processing, arranging, describing, and providing access to government records. Experience providing reference services to the public. Undergraduate or graduate degree or certification in library science, records and information management,or archival studies, or equivalent coursework and/or experience. UNION MEMBERSHIP: Positions in this classification are represented by Teamsters, Local 117 Professional/Technical.