Center of Southwest Studies Archivist Job Description in Full

1. Position of the Archivist: The Archivist reports to the Director of the Center of Southwest Studies and carries faculty rank. This is a tenure track position in the Fort Lewis College Libraries department within Academic Affairs. As such, the Archivist is a member of the Library faculty of Fort Lewis College. The John F. Reed Library and the Robert W. Delaney Southwest Research Library belong to this same academic department for the purposes of library faculty probationary and post-tenure reviews and evaluations, for consideration of promotions, for service on College and faculty committees, and for voting on faculty voting issues. The salary for the Archivist position is in the Center of Southwest Studies salary budget lines.

2. Authority of the Archivist: The Archivist is authorized, on behalf of the College and of the Center of Southwest Studies, to appraise and schedule; acquire, accession, and deaccession (by consent of the Southwest Accessions/ Deaccessions Committee, which the Archivist chairs); arrange and describe; and preserve and make available the Fort Lewis College special collections and archival materials. The Archivist shall have the right of reasonable access to and examination of all current College records.

3. Qualifications of the Archivist: The general qualifications for the Archivist include an M.A. degree in history with archival training and/or a library science M.L.S. with an emphasis on archives, familiarity with the MARC format and regional and national catalog databases, and at least five years of archival experience.

4. Outline of the Archivist's Responsibilities: The Archivist's areas of work are encompassed by three spheres: archival work; teaching; and service to the public/ professional activities. The proportion of time spent on these three areas, respectively, averages approximately 60%, 15%, and 25%.

4.1. Most of the Archivist's time is devoted to archival work. The Archivist maintains the archival program of the Center and the College; appraises, acquires, arranges, describes, manages, preserves, and provides access to the non-artifact non-library materials (the special collections); writes grant proposals; organizes and implements programs in digitization, oral history, and disaster preparedness; develops and revises all forms created by the Center; researches, specifies, locates and orders supplies and equipment needed for the proper conduct of the archival functions; advises and consults with the Director of the Center for the selection of personnel for the Center's special collections; and develops and maintains the Center's web site.

4.1.1 Internal archival work as the College Archivist. The Archivist is responsible for accessioning, appraising, deaccessioning, arranging, describing, and making available the archival records of the College in accordance with applicable laws and statutes. The Archivist also supervises the records management for the entire College through the creation and implementation of records schedules and transfer of historically significant College records to the College Archives at the Center.

4.1.2 Internal archival work as the Manuscripts Curator. The Archivist oversees the management of the Center's special collections, including identifying, appraising, accessioning, arranging, describing, deaccessioning, managing, preserving and making them available.

4.1.3 External archival work with researchers, donors and collection development. The Archivist is the person primarily responsible for the Center's interactions with users of the Center's special collections, including the preparation of finding aids and the provision of reference services in person, over the Web, by mail, by email, and by telephone. The Archivist assists the Director of the Center and other Southwest Studies staff and faculty in the solicitation and acquisition of special collections and gifts.

4.1.4 Supervision of archival assistants. The Archivist trains, supervises and evaluates the Assistant College Archivist, archival student workers, volunteers, and other personnel who assist with archival functions at the Center.

4.2. Registration numbers permitting, the Archivist teaches one or two undergraduate courses each year, in topics related to the archival profession. Generally, one is offered each fall term, the other in the winter term.

4.3. The Archivist engages in service to the public and professional activities at the local, regional, and national levels.

4.3.1 Public service includes consulting activities regarding the various archival functions as described in section 4.1; reference service; managing the Center's website; public outreach programs at the Center and elsewhere; oral presentations; workshops on archival topics; peer grant evaluations; and assisting colleagues at other institutions in preserving and accessing their historical records. "Archivists answer courteously and with a spirit of helpfulness all reasonable inquiries about their holdings, and encourage use of them to the greatest extent compatible with institutional policies, preservation of holdings, legal considerations, individual rights, donor agreements, and judicious use of archival resources. They explain pertinent restrictions to potential users, and apply them equitably." (Society of American Archivists Code of Ethics, 1992)

4.3.2 Professional contributions include, when possible, participation in regional and national meetings of relevant professional associations; participation with colleagues on the relevant international electronic mail lists; publication of manuscripts; dissemination of model guides, forms, plans and policy statements produced by the Archivist for archival work in general; writing grant proposals; and other scholarly and creative activities.

5. Performance Evaluation of the Archivist: The Archivist's performance is evaluated in writing by the Center's Director each year and (pertaining to academic functions) by the Libraries Personnel Committee. The Archivist submits a Personnel Action File to the Libraries Personnel Committee every three years to summarize activities and accomplishments of the previous three years. The Libraries Personnel Committee is responsible for reviews, evaluations, and promotion recommendations as regards the faculty aspects of the Archivist position. The Committee will seek (and utilize) input from the Center of Southwest Studies when conducting the personnel review of the Archivist.

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