About the American Song Archives

The American Song Archives manages the Bob Dylan Center® and the Woody Guthrie Center® in Tulsa, Oklahoma. These centers house the archives of Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton, Cynthia Gooding, the personal libraries of Izzy Young and Harry Smith, as well as numerous other smaller collections.

The Bob Dylan Center® serves to educate, motivate and inspire visitors to engage their own capacity as creators. While the center is anchored by a permanent exhibit on the life and work of Bob Dylan, it also offers additional exhibits, public programs, performances, lectures and publications, through which it aims to foster a conversation about the role of creativity in our lives.

The Woody Guthrie Center® is dedicated to spreading Woody Guthrie’s message of diversity, equality and justice to a new generation who can create their own ripples of change. The center, which opened in 2013, honors Guthrie’s life and legacy by educating visitors, teachers, students and scholars about his relevance today and his important role in American history through on-site programming, classroom materials, youth music programs, artist-in-residence programs, school outreach, internships, fellowship opportunities and the Woody Guthrie Archives.

Position Purpose

Reporting to the Director of Archives and Exhibitions, the Archivist is responsible for preparing ASA’s collection for discovery, access, research, and exhibitions. We are seeking to hire an experienced, full-time archivist to process, catalog, and make accessible the rich resources in our holdings, including the collections of Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Phil Ochs, Cynthia Gooding, and others. The Archivist will be an integral piece to the archives and collections team and will work closely with the exhibitions and education components of the organization.

Responsibilities

• Archival Processing: Surveys collections and determines appropriate level of archival description to ensure proper discovery and access; Creates and adheres to processing plans, timelines, and deadlines for projects, evaluates project outcomes and deliverables; Processes, catalogs, preserves and conserves multi-format collections, including manuscripts, photographic materials, audiovisual materials, born-digital materials; Creates, updates, and publishes EAD XML finding aids using ArchivesSpace
• Reference Services: Works with researchers, schedules and oversees research requests, applications, and appointments
• Digital Archives: Works with digital materials in digital asset management system (Starchive); Implements all necessary metadata standards to the collections and ensures the longevity of the digital assets along their entire lifecycle
• Cataloging of Printed Materials: Catalogs books and periodicals according to OCLC/WorldCat and Library of Congress standards for access and discovery
• Digitization and Preservation Services: Digitizes materials in the collections and helps select items to send out to vendors for digitization based on conservation, preservation, or access needs; Works with vendors on external digitization projects and to manage quality assurance and quality control

Additional Responsibilities

• Works with curators, researchers, and other ASA staff and partners to provide access to digital collections for the purposes of digital and physical exhibitions, research, social media, and publications
• Assists with inventory control and collections management, accessions and deaccessions materials as needed
• Assists with American Song Archives research fellowship programs (BMI/Woody Guthrie Fellowship, Phil Ochs Fellowship, etc.)
• Helps promote collections and research opportunities through Fellowship programs, social media posts, blog posts, libguides, and other public-facing channels
• Assists with exhibitions and exhibitions team as needed
• Other duties as assigned by direct supervisor

Please Note

Due to the necessary public health precautions put in place as a result of COVID-19 pandemic, to work in person and attend in-person meetings, all team members must follow American Song Archives LLC COVID safety precautions, which currently includes being fully vaccinated. The vaccine requirement is subject to reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act exceptions.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Required

• Demonstrated experience with appraising, processing, describing, and arranging archival collections through published finding aids
• Demonstrated Experience with and fluency in using information management systems (particularly ArchivesSpace) and publishing EAD finding aids
• Demonstrated experience with digital archives and content management systems such as Content DM, DSpace, Starchive, or other platforms
• Thorough knowledge of and experience with current archival and library metadata and cataloging standards, including DACS, EAD, MODS, Dublin Core, AACR2, MARC, LC subject headings and classification
• Experience with providing reference services and researcher access
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams) and Google Drive platform and products

Preferred

• Knowledge of and experience with, library cataloging best practices and procedures
• Experience with and/or knowledge of preservation and conservation needs of library materials and archival collections
• Experience with multiformat collections, including physical and digital materials, and a range of audiovisual formats
• Experience with digitization preservation standards for audiovisual materials, photographic materials, and documents, including those of LOC, DLF, FADGI, IASA, etc.
• Familiarity with disk imaging, digital forensics tools, and/or digital preservation management software, Bitcurator, etc.
• Familiarity with ISO Standards for Digital Archives, strategies and procedures for handling digital and born-digital file-formats: including text, images, multimedia platforms, film, video, audio, email, etc.
• Experience with libguides, archival blog posts, or other public-facing approaches to collection accessibility and discovery
• Understanding of copyright law, rights and permissions, privacy issues, licensing, and digital rights management

Work Standards

• Excellent written, verbal, listening, and interpersonal communication skills, ability to manage multiple tasks at one time, create and evaluate workflows
• Significant project management skills and demonstrated ability to work independently on long-term projects requiring sustained focus and effort
• Ability to collaborate with other team members on archives- and exhibits-related projects
• Attention to detail and accuracy high level of productivity, ability to complete projects on time
• Ability to learn and implement new systems and techniques as required
• Dedication to the security of all ASA collections, digital and physical, and working to ensure all intellectual property rights and rights of privacy and publicity are observed under federal, state, and international law
• Commitment to the core values and code of ethics of the Society of American Archivists; Commitment to career development and excellence in the field.

Education & Experience

• ALA-accredited Master’s Degree in Library Science (MLIS), or Master’s of Science in Information Studies (MSIS), or equivalent, with a focus on archival and/or library studies. Equivalent education with considerable, demonstrated on-the-job experience in libraries or archives may be considered
• Preferred minimum of five years of demonstrated experience in processing and cataloging a wide variety of archival and/or library collections

Physical Requirements

• Frequently sitting perform and performing desk-based computer tasks, including repetitive keyboard and data entry and handwriting; frequent standing and sitting while processing materials
• Occasionally climb and reach on ladders and step stools
• Ability to lift and carry or transport materials up to 40 pounds; ability to push book carts or flatbed trucks up to 100 pounds
• Occasionally work with materials that may have been exposed to dust, mildew, or mold

Salary

• Expected range for the starting salary for this position starts at $62,500 per year. Salary offering will ultimately depend on prior experience, education, and other qualifications.

Hours and Location

• This is an in-person position based in Tulsa, Oklahoma
• A typical work week is Monday - Friday from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
• The work week will occasionally vary with advance notice depending on scheduled programming and other events; may require evening or weekend hours for special events, tours or assisting visiting researchers