City of Cambridge

Records Management and Archives Intern

City of Cambridge  •  Cambridge, MA (Hybrid)  •  1 month ago
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Job Description

ABOUT THE ROLE:

The City of Cambridge seeks a Records Management and Archives intern to assist the Records Management and Archives Manager with various projects that will help to expand the records management and archival program within the City Clerk’s office. Under the supervision of the program manager, the intern will work on various projects that will simultaneously address the needs of the City Clerk’s office, with the goal of ensuring that the records are available to the public and are easily accessible. The intern will follow instructions to process records, rehouse documents, when necessary, draft collection descriptions and expand upon existing collection finding aids, identify areas in need of future preservation and/or repair work. The position is a temporary part time role of 19.5 hours for up to one year.

ESSENTIAL ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

Current records management and archival projects are evolving and the project descriptions listed below constitute the projects as they stand at the time of posting. Additional projects will be assigned once the initial set of projects are completed.

  • Assist with processing records for upcoming digitization efforts, to include the following tasks: inventory records, prepare records for shipment (unfold, flatten, identify any condition issues that may impact the scanning process), rehouse documents in archival encasements to ensure long-term storage and preservation, among other tasks,
  • Work on records management tasks for the Clerk’s Office and City Manager’s large-scale organization project, including reviewing storage locations, identifying and separating records by department, preparing records for either destruction or storage (based upon the instruction provided by project leads), cleaning records for review and processing,
  • Assist with performing quality control verifications on returned collections prior to publication for public access,
  • Assist in the inventory of existing collections and adding location information for ease of access,
  • Assist with drafting finding aids for permanent and temporary collections,
  • Review collections of permanent documents and identify preservation needs for future work, and
  • Evaluate large print collection and determine future preservation work on older materials.
  • Assist with other ad hoc projects of both archival and records management nature, as well as working on the next set of projects for the next phase of scanning, storage, and in-house processing.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

Education & Experience:

  • Bachelor’s degree in public policy, business administration, library science, archival science, information management, or progress towards a degree in a relevant subject area,
  • Prior experience working on records in a general office setting,
  • Experience working on independent projects, with a proven track record of completing tasks by their deadlines.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

  • Knowledgeable in standard Microsoft Office programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)
  • Able to maintain confidential information,
  • Ability to complete work in a timely and accurate manner, and meet deadlines,
  • Able to work independently with moderate supervision,
  • Communicate effectively throughout the internship period, and
  • Able to follow instructions and ask questions when issues arise.

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE:

  • Master’s degree in public policy, business administration, library science/archival management, information management, history, or an advanced degree in a relevant subject area,
  • Prior experience in archives, library, and/or government setting preferred, and
  • Experience using Smartsheets, Google Suite, or other collaborative software.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

Work involves examining, working with, and rehousing records, some that are in a typical office environment, a vault environment, or in less pristine environments.Work involves sitting, standing, walking, bending, lifting boxes up to 40 pounds, and climbing ladders up to 6 feet.Visual demands include constantly reading documents for general understanding and for analytical purposes.There is no eating or drinking in archival vaults where materials are being processed. The position may be eligible for hybrid work under the City's Telework Policy, depending on operational needs.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:

Please upload the following documents to complete your application.

  • Resume
  • Cover letter
City of Cambridge

About City of Cambridge

Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, a nexus of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Notably, Cambridge is home to two internationally prominent universities, Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. According to a 2008 census estimate the city population was 105,594. It is the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, Worcester, and Springfield. Cambridge is one of the two county seats of Middlesex County (Lowell is the other).

The site for what would become Cambridge was chosen in December 1630, because it was located safely up river from Boston Harbor, which made it easily defensible from attacks by enemy ships. The first houses were built in the spring of 1631. The settlement was initially referred to as "the newe towne"​. Official Massachusetts records show the name capitalized as Newe Towne by 1632. Located at the first convenient Charles River crossing west of Boston, Newe Towne was one of a number of towns (including Boston, Dorchester, Watertown, and Weymouth) founded by the 700 original Puritan colonists of the Massachusetts Bay Colony under governor John Winthrop. The original village site is in the heart of today's Harvard Square. The marketplace where farmers brought in crops from surrounding towns to sell survives today as the small park at the corner of John F. Kennedy (J.F.K.) and Winthrop Streets, then at the edge of a salt marsh, since filled.

Industry
Government & Public Safety
Company Size
1,001-5,000 employees
Headquarters
Unknown
Year Founded
1846
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