Archives Assistant

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Monitors, organizes, and maintains library stacks to ensure accurate shelving, accessibility, and preservation of materials
• Assists with collection assessment projects, identifies duplicate items, and coordinates removal or relocation as needed
• Processes incoming donations and transfers by creating accession records, labeling materials, and ensuring proper documentation
• Updates and manages collection management systems, tracking the location, condition, and status of archival and library holdings
• Prepares materials for exhibitions, displays, and external loans under supervision. Assists in installation and deinstallation of exhibits, event setup, and public program logistics
• Participates in library committees, working groups, and outreach initiatives. Helps during tours, instructional sessions, or community engagement programs to promote awareness of archives and special collections
• Other duties as assigned

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

• Knowledge of archival principles, practices, tools, and systems
• Knowledge of management, preservation, and archival of for born-digital and digitized materials
• Skill in appraising, processing, and describing archival collections
• Skill in transferring content from legacy media for archival purposes
• Ability to work as a part of a team
• Ability to develop and maintain effective and positive working relationships

Minimum Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in related field
• 3 years of relevant experience
• Equivalent combination of experience and education may be considered

Job Level Overview

Operations, Administrative, Service, or Technical Support Level 3 - Senior level role with considerable knowledge and skills. Performs complex tasks and project work. Work is typically not routine and requires troubleshooting and analysis. Mentors or guides less experienced staff.

Additional Job Details
The Vignelli Center for Design Studies Archives Assistant will assist with the management of the design archives of renowned designers Lella and Massimo Vignelli, comprised of over 500,000 artifacts documenting their 50-year career across all areas of design. The Archives Assistant position is a rare opportunity to assist a small busy team with multifaceted duties in all aspects of archives management. The Archives Assistant processes archival collections, digitizes artifacts, and helps researchers access the collections. They contribute to department planning and provide public services and outreach through tours, class visits, and social media. Additionally, the Archives Assistant oversees the Archives when the Archivist is out of the office. This position is funded for 5 years with the possibility of continued funding. This is a 35 hours a week, benefits-eligible position.
Key Job Responsibilities:

• Arrange, describe and otherwise process archival collections according to local and professional standards.

• Assist in preventive preservation practices, including rehousing objects and digital preservation.

• Provide public services for the department, including reference guidance, class presentations and public outreach, including contributing to our social media channels.

• Digitally photograph and scan archival materials to create high-quality digital images to be used in publications, online presentations, or other purposes by both Archives staff and patrons, including adding digital collections in Google Arts & Culture.

• Assist in preparing displays of collection materials, both in real and virtual exhibition spaces, such as Open House events.

• Oversee Archives when the Archivist is not in the office, supervising student assistant as needed.

• Collaborate on special projects as needed. 

Department/College Description: 
The Vignelli Center for Design Studies is a hub of research, education, and creative inspiration that houses over 750,000 artifacts across all fields of design. Iconic works by Lella and Massimo Vignelli are featured at the heart of our collection and their legacy forms the foundation of design excellence and innovation that the Vignelli Center celebrates today. Learn more about the center at rit.edu/vignellicenter

RIT’s College of Art and Design is a professional art and design school at the forefront of technology, art, and design. Spanning more than 230,000 square feet, our facilities feature state-of-the-art studios and labs that foster a collaborative, hands-on learning environment. We are a dynamic community of artists, designers, and creative technologists. The College includes nearly 2,000 undergraduate and graduate students, 140 full-time faculty, 60 creative staff, and numerous part-time faculty—all contributing to our collaborative ecosystem.

Our five schools—Art, American Crafts, Design, Film and Animation, and Photographic Arts and Sciences—offer a diverse range of BFA, BS, and MFA programs. As part of a top national technical university, our students benefit from unique opportunities to collaborate across disciplines in science, engineering, liberal arts, sustainability, and entrepreneurship, as well as through RIT’s global campuses. Learn more at rit.edu/artdesign.

Candidates must be eligible to work in the United States.
 

FLSA Category

Work Location

Compensation

Application Materials

When you are ready to complete an application for this position please be prepared to submit the below requested information.  This will be required to ensure your application is processed in a timely manner.

Candidates must be eligible to work in the United States.

Additional Details

In compliance with NYS's Pay Transparency Act, the salary range for this position is listed above. Rochester Institute of Technology considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, as well as, market and organizational considerations when extending an offer. The hiring process for this position may require a criminal background check and/or motor vehicle records check. Any verbal or written offer made is contingent on satisfactory results, as determined by Human Resources. RIT provides equal opportunity to all qualified individuals and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, age, marital status, sex, gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, veteran status or disability in its hiring, admissions, educational programs and activities. RIT provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities under the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the New York Human Rights Law, or similar applicable law.

If you need reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please contact the Human Resources office at 585-475-2424 or email your request to [email protected]. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.