Archivist, Film and Special Media

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum•Bowie, MD

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is a federally chartered, nonpartisan institution that was created by the US Congress to serve as America’s national memorial to the victims of the Holocaust and an educational institution dedicated to the history and lessons of the Holocaust. The Museum seeks to educate Americans from all 50 states and all walks of life as well as international audiences. The Museum has three areas of expertise: Holocaust remembrance, Holocaust scholarship and education, and genocide prevention. In carrying out its important memorial and educational mission, the Museum is guided by its institutional values for our workplace: Honor the memory of the victims; carry out our work with dignity, humility, integrity and respect for others; and strive for excellence through teamwork, rigor, and a culture of continuous learning. Consistent respect for others is the foundation for trust, collegiality and inclusion. The David M. Rubenstein National Institute for Holocaust Documentation’s (RNIHD) major responsibility is to collect, preserve, and make available the historical record of the Holocaust and to support with its stewardship of the Collection of Record the Museum's wide-ranging efforts in the areas of research, exhibition, publication, education, and memorialization. The primary purpose of this position is to arrange, describe, and preserve film and other audiovisual materials in collections held by the Museum. The incumbent inspects film and audiovisual carriers, makes recommendations for remediation and/or digitization, conducts research regarding the history and provenance of collections, creates finding aids and catalog records, and unifies dispersed archival collections. The position supports the ongoing development and implementation of procedures and practices that enhance access to the collections into the future. The position works collaboratively across the Rubenstein Institute, and participates on several cross-functional teams. This is a full-time donated, 3-year term position (non-Federal) paid with the Museum’s private funds. Salary is commensurate with experience. This position is located in Bowie, MD and is hybrid telework eligible, within the local commuting distance of the Museum worksite.

Requirements

5+ years working as a film, audiovisual, or media archivist or related profession and professional knowledge of archival principles, theoretical concepts, techniques and functions.
Experience with audiovisual handling and preservation techniques, including housing, storage, and conservation.
Expertise in the physical and technical characteristics of a wide range of media formats, including: analog video, small-gauge and nitrate film, and uncompressed and compressed digital video files.
Expertise in structuring findings aids according to standards.
Knowledge of the theory and practice of museum and archive software systems, such as EMu and/or ArchivesSpace, and skill in the use of these systems for cataloging and description.
Knowledge of, and skill in the use of, archival metadata standards such as DACS, EAD, Dublin Cores, and PBCore.
Knowledge of digital archival principles.
Basic familiarity with German.
Knowledge of 20th century European history, with particular emphasis on WWII, the Holocaust and its legacy.
Knowledge of, and skill in the use of, standard vocabulary for subject terms, personal names, corporate names, and geographic place names according to the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, the Library of Congress authority term rules, and the ability to search other online authority files.

Nice To Haves

Expert knowledge of historical research methods to use archival collections and related resources.
Professional knowledge of available finding aids and research tools regarding USHMM archival holdings and related collections in other relevant institutions.
Expert professional knowledge of the methods and sources for keeping current with the scholarly research on the Holocaust and on World War II, and the ability to convey this knowledge on to other researchers.
Demonstrated ability to work with archival materials in 2 or more non-English European languages or Yiddish or Hebrew.
Thorough knowledge of the theory and practice of the architecture and standards for theArchive’s electronic environment, Internet work, and dissemination of the Archives' bibliographic data and electronic resources nationally and internationally such as XML, JSON, CSV, HTTP, and API. Such standards include the formats used for exchange application level protocols and various markup definitions.
Proficiency in at least one other European language, Yiddish, or Hebrew in addition to German.

Responsibilities

Analyzes, develops, plans, and participates in arrangement or rearrangement of archival film and audiovisual collections at all hierarchical levels.
Describes film and audiovisual material.
Trains others in said description and coordinates with staff responsible for acquisition, curatorial documentation, physical and digital management, and preservation.
Develops and ensures finding aids and catalog records provide accurate intellectual control over holdings, in compliance with Museum standards.
Creates catalog records and finding aids in the Museum’s collections management system (EMu) and other systems for both original and copied films, and participates in the updates, revisions, or consolidation in Museum tools.
Conducts independent research to verify the identity and authenticity of archival film and audiovisual materials.
Analyzes film and special media materials for responsiveness to reference and special project needs.
Conducts research in online and other bibliographical or audiovisual reference sources.
Participates in the evaluation, inspection, and condition assessment of film and audiovisual materials.
Participates in the appraisal, selection, and ingest of digital assets.
Provides recommendations related to inspection, assessment, preliminary housing, and labeling and batching for digitization.
Advises on digitization of analog carriers for access and preservation.
Participates in projects to design, evaluate, and implement appropriate digital asset management storage and management.
Serves on cross-office teams, projects, and initiatives to advance the Rubenstein Institute’s priorities and goals.
Coordinates and communicates with colleagues and key stakeholders to share resources and integrate efforts across the Rubenstein Institute.
Evaluates and recommends creation of or changes to procedures.
Other duties as assigned.

Benefits

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum values employee wellness, work-life balance and the diversity of what this means for individual employees in life and work.
We are proud to offer a comprehensive benefits package for benefits-eligible employees that includes generous paid leave benefits, health, dental, and vision insurance, flexible spending accounts, a health savings account with an employer contribution, 403(b) retirement plan with a generous employer match and contribution, group term and supplemental life insurance, short and long-term disability, commuter subsidy, access to two employee assistance programs, as well as voluntary critical illness and accident insurance coverage, long-term care and pet insurance options.
Our policies also support telework and other flexible schedule options based on the job, work and team collaboration requirements.

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