Faculty Positions

Position Title / Rank: Assistant or Associate Librarian, Project Archivist, One-Year Contractually-Limited Appointment

College: McLaughlin Library

Department: Archival & Special Collections (ASC)

Date Posted: December 8, 2021
Deadline: January 12, 2022 or until a suitable candidate is found
Please reference AD #21-52

Position Description:

McLaughlin Library at the University of Guelph invites applications for a one-year contractually-limited position at the Assistant or Associate Librarian level.

McLaughlin Library invites applications for a dynamic, collaborative, and technologically inclined archivist to fill the position of Project Archivist on our Archival & Special Collections team.

The ASC Team consists of a team Head, the Special Collections Librarian, an Archivist, four Archives Associates and two Special Collections Clerks.

The successful candidate for this 12-month contractually limited position will report to the Head Archival & Special Collections and provide support for the migration of our descriptive collections information into an Access to Memory (AtoM) instance, and the implementation of an Archivematica workspace and various digital preservation and ingest workflows. The successful candidate will also spend part of their time scheduled on reference support and reading room supervision. This is an exciting opportunity for an early career archivist with a passion for preserving and providing access to digital materials, and a vision for how available technology can be harnessed to maximize equitable collection access.

Responsibilities & Duties

  • Work on the planning and implementation of Archivematica ingest workflows for digitally preserving a wide variety of digitized and born digital archival assets.
  • Support the ongoing migration of our accessions database information from Microsoft Access to AtoM.
  • Support the ongoing migration of our descriptive database information from the library’s search tool, Omni, to AtoM.
  • Generate documentation describing internal policies and procedures for undertaking all aspects of the projects described above.
  • Provide training for internal ASC staff on workflows related to the projects described above.
  • Share in the scheduled supervision of the ASC reading room during our opening hours.
  • Work with Archival Associates, Archivists, & the Special Collections Librarian to help deliver virtual reference services via email, telephone, and/or videoconference.
  • Provide expertise and solutions for researcher requests for digitization of analog material and access to our digital holdings.

Required Qualifications

  • An ALA-accredited master’s degree in library and information science or equivalent. 
  • At least one year's experience working in an archival repository or special collections library.
  • Knowledge of current archival and special collections cataloguing standards, and controlled vocabularies, e.g., RAD, Dublin Core, EAD, and OAI.   
  • Demonstrated proficiency and capacity to work with specialized library and archival software including Microsoft Access, AtoM, Archivematica, and Alma.
  • Demonstrated proficiency with standard office software applications including Microsoft Teams, and Microsoft Office.
  • Demonstrated project management experience and the ability to prioritize work and meet deadlines.
  • Strong oral and written communication skills. 

The University of Guelph is the third largest employer in Guelph, a city of approximately 130,000 people, located about an hour drive west of Toronto, Ontario. University of Guelph is a top-ranked comprehensive university in Canada with an enrolment of over 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students across over 40 academic units. The University is known for its commitment to student learning, innovative research, and collaboration with world-class partners. It is a unique place, with transformative research and teaching and a distinctive campus culture. People who learn and work here are shaped and inspired by a shared purpose: To Improve Life. Reflecting that shared purpose in every experience connected to our university positions us to create positive change, here and around the world. Our University community shares a profound sense of social responsibility, a drive for international development, and an obligation to address global issues.

Application Process

This position is a 12-month contractually limited appointment that will be filled at the Assistant or Associate Librarian Level, commencing in Spring 2022. Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience and a comprehensive benefits package is provided. Assessment of applications will begin on January 12, 2022 and will continue until the position is filled. Interested applicants should submit the following materials:

  • A statement of interest and vision for the position demonstrating how their qualifications and experience relate to the responsibilities, duties and required qualifications of the position,
  • curriculum vitae, and
  • Names of at least three references, including one direct supervisor, and one peer/collaborator, all for either most recent or immediately prior position. (References will not be contacted without consent)

Please submit application as a single PDF by email to libhire@uoguelph.ca by end of day January 12, 2022.

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

The University recognizes that applicants may have had obligations outside of work that have negatively impacted their record of achievements (e.g., parental, elder care, and/or medical). You are not required to disclose these obligations in the hiring process. If you choose to do so, the University will ensure that these obligations do not negatively impact the assessment of your qualifications for the position.

The University of Guelph resides on the ancestral lands of the Attawandaron people and the treaty lands and territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit and we offer our respect to our Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and Métis neighbours as we strive to strengthen our relationships with them.

At the University of Guelph, fostering a culture of inclusion (https://uoguel.ph/ox2p9) is an institutional imperative. The University invites and encourages applications from all qualified individuals, including from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in employment, who may contribute to further diversification of our Institution.

If you require a medical accommodation during the recruitment or selection process, please contact Occupational Health and Wellness at 519-824-4120 x52674.