University Archivist

Library of the University of California, Davis

Overview of Position

The University of California, Davis seeks a dynamic and collaborative person for the position of University Archivist. This role heads the library’s strategic initiatives concerning the management of faculty and institutionally created content in a research university environment.

The University Archivist provides vision, leadership, advocacy, and interpretation for the campus archives and other institutional assets, which are increasingly born-digital and heterogeneous in nature. The incumbent will serve as a catalyst and coordinator for a dynamic group of activities and individuals dedicated to connecting these collections to faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, and an international community of scholars, experts, and enthusiasts. The University Archivist develops and implements a strategy that reflects an expansive concept of institutional assets, incorporating new and evolving technologies that expand the library’s ability to support research, instruction, clinical care, and public service. The University Archivist capitalizes on the expertise of many by collaborating with campus units to help the university demonstrate and document its impact regionally, nationally, and internationally.

This role also acts as the lead for digital storytelling in Archives and Special Collections, coordinating efforts to promote awareness and use of distinctive collections for all audiences. Digital storytelling serves to demonstrate the global impact of UC Davis research, teaching, and patient care to a broad public. Working in collaboration with the library’s Online Strategy group, the University Archivist will develop priorities for the creation and curation of online content by colleagues across the library organization. Example projects include inviting user engagement with digital collections, collaborating on interactive websites or digital applications, and facilitating computational approaches to digital assets and collections.

The University Archivist is active in collection development and management, research services, outreach (including exhibits), fundraising and grant writing, and supervision of relevant project and student staff. The role works closely with the Digital Assets Specialist in the appraisal, ingest, management, and preservation of digital assets, and takes the lead in the library’s website archiving program. In addition, the University Archivist serves as the library’s representative to campus, university, and national organizations regarding archives-focused initiatives, especially for digital formats. In collaboration with other members of the Archives and Special Collections department, the University Archivist may occasionally serve as the contact for visiting classes and researchers and will contribute to more general departmental outreach to the campus community.

Stronger candidates will possess deep knowledge of the legal (including intellectual property) and ethical considerations around archiving and preserving both analog and digital formats; an entrepreneurial approach to emerging and/or bespoke formats of institutional content; enthusiasm for working with donors, faculty, and students; proclivity for adopting new technologies and methods that will improve access to and use of distinctive collections; and a collaborative and collegial outlook and spirit.

This position is in the Librarian Series and, as such, is an academic appointee. Librarians at the University of California are represented by an exclusive bargaining agent, University Council – American Federation of Teachers (UC-AFT). In addition to professional competence and quality of service within the library in the primary job, advancement in the librarian series requires professional involvement and contributions outside of the library, and/or university and community service, and/or scholarly activities.

THIS IS NOT AN H1-B OPPORTUNITY

UC Davis and UC Davis Library

The University of California, Davis, is a global community of individuals united to better humanity and our natural world while seeking solutions to some of our most pressing challenges. Located near Sacramento, California’s capital, UC Davis has more than 39,000 students, the full-time equivalent of 4,100 faculty and other academics and researchers, and 17,400 other personnel. The university has an annual sponsored research budget of over $960 million, includes a major academic health system, and over two dozen specialized research centers. Recognized as one of the top 10 public universities in the US and the number one university in the world for agricultural research and veterinary medicine, UC Davis offers interdisciplinary graduate study and more than 100 undergraduate majors in four colleges - Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering, and Letters and Science. It also houses six professional schools - Education, Law, Management, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, and Nursing. The university is ranked among the top institutions in the country in contributing to the public good (e.g., recruiting and graduating low-income students), LGBTQ-inclusivity, and serving first-generation and Hispanic students. In addition to the main campus in Davis and the medical center in Sacramento, UC Davis has research facilities in Bodega Bay and Tahoe and faculty in every county of the state through its agricultural extension program.

UC Davis is a top-tier public university, ranked 5th nationally by the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education, 9th in the QS USA University rankings, and 10th nationally by US News and World Report among U.S. public universities overall and for research funding. It is also ranked #1 in the diversity and internationalization category in the QS USA University rankings. The US News and World Report rankings also highlight UC Davis as 16th among “top performers on social mobility,” which is determined by the outcomes of Pell Grant recipients and other stats. Check out more ranking information on our “About Us” webpage.

The UC Davis Library is ranked among the top academic research libraries in North America and belongs to the Association of Research Libraries and other organizations that position it to collaborate with other top organizations. The library uses Ex Libris’s Alma as a UC-wide resource management system, Primo VE as a UC-wide discovery system, and Fedora as its digital asset management system.

The resources of Archives and Special Collections play a significant role in the library’s support of instruction and research. The department has several areas of strength including viticulture and enology, agricultural technology, political movements and radical pamphlets, nineteenth century British poetry, theater history, history of natural sciences, and nature writing. With generous support from Warren Winiarski, the library is pursuing wine writers as an area of growing collection strength. The department also oversees the Michael and Margaret B. Harrison Western Research Center Collection, comprising 21,000 volumes relating to the Trans-Mississippi West, and is responsible for the library’s map collection and the University Archives. The library relies on remote storage at the UC Northern Regional Library Facility (NRLF) as a secure preservation environment for many of its rare materials.

In addition to this position, the Archives and Special Collections department comprises six regular employees,, one grant-funded term-appointed employee shared with the Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies, and a number of student employees. This position reports to the Head of Archives and Special Collections.

The work location for this position is principally on campus, with some required travel (largely in northern California) and some flexibility to work remotely per applicable Library policy.

Our Commitment to Inclusive Excellence

As one of the country’s leading R1 institutions, UC Davis seeks candidates with an exceptional record of research and/or teaching, and inclusive excellence. In addition, the successful candidate will demonstrate an understanding of the barriers preventing full participation of members from historically underrepresented and marginalized student communities in higher education, such as (but not limited to) women, underrepresented minorities, individuals self-identifying as LGBTQIA+, veterans, individuals with disabilities, economically disadvantaged groups, first-generation, undocumented students, or students with any intersections in between.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are core values of the University of California, Davis that are embedded within our Principles of Community and are tied with how to best serve our student population. Please review the full Job Posting to learn about the initiatives that keep UC Davis an inclusive and safe campus for our incredibly diverse students, staff, academic appointees, and faculty.

Position Responsibilities

Under the general direction of the Head of Archives and Special Collections, the incumbent will be responsible for:

• University Archives and other institutional assets:
  • Establish and implement a vision, strategy, and goals for programs around UC Davis created or commissioned works.
  • Lead and/or participate in multiple cross-library initiatives to build and sustain programmatic efforts around distinctive collections.
    
  • Manage budgets for collection development and programmatic efforts around appropriate distinctive collections.
  • Use data and assessment techniques to support evidence-based changes to services and programs to improve the user experience.
  • Maintain cooperative relationships with campus and UC records management and Campus Counsel to comply with the campus, UC, and national requirements for university archives.
  • Work collaboratively with relevant UC Davis officials (e.g., Compliance Council) to ensure that UC Davis created or commissioned content placed in university archives complies with legal requirements and appropriate use permissions.
• Collection development, appraisal, and management:
  • Provide leadership around collection development and collection management for UC Davis created or commissioned works.
    
  • Cultivate existing and potential relationships with faculty, researchers, institutes, and other campus entities that have or may have assets appropriate to be transferred to the library’s custody.
  • Explore new areas for collection development as we take an expansive view of institutional assets and the role of the library.
    
  • Develop collection policies and conduct ongoing analyses of collection strengths
  • Acquire collections in alignment with collecting goals for more inclusive collecting and the library’s strategic plan.
  • Assist colleagues with the processing of acquisitions by assessing collections, establishing priorities for processing and/or digitization, and, as needed, providing input on catalog records, finding aids, and metadata needed for digital collections.
  • Identify items in need of conservation treatment and work with colleagues to develop, review, and approve treatment plans.
• Development:
  • Participate in development efforts to enhance collections, services, and outreach by cultivating existing and prospective donors, as well as ideating and preparing funding proposals in coordination with the Senior Director of Development.
    
  • May conduct or coordinate oral histories with donors.
• Outreach and digital storytelling:
  • Lead and coordinate all departmental efforts in digital storytelling for distinctive collections, including content creation for digital storytelling of University Archives and Institutional Assets
  • Interpret and promote the library’s distinctive collections to both campus and community audiences through physical and digital exhibits, social media, public events, tours, scholarly publications, and other activities for a wide set of audiences.
  • Build and sustain relationships with students, faculty, and campus partners.
  • Participate in digital scholarship and/or data science projects both within the library and elsewhere on campus.
  • Collaborate with faculty to design and host classes that allow students to learn directly from primary source holdings and to incorporate distinctive collections into the curriculum.
• Departmental contributions:
  • Assist colleagues with the processing of acquisitions by assessing collections, establishing priorities, and, as needed, providing input on catalog records, finding aids, and metadata needed for digital collections
  • Contributes to supporting the day-to-day operations, including staffing the reading room and providing research services via phone, email, and in person on a variety of topics
  • Contributes to department-level planning and the formulation of new policies and procedures
• Advance the goals of the library’s forthcoming strategic plan, including a renewed focus on inclusion and equity.
• Represent the library through participation in campus, local, regional, and national cooperative, outreach, and professional activities.
• Keep abreast of developments in archives and special collections standards and trends, applying new rules, interpretations, and techniques as appropriate.
• Participate in professional development activities as appropriate to meet both personal needs as well as departmental goals and objectives.
• Other duties and responsibilities as assigned.
• As an academic appointee, engage actively in pertinent ongoing research, scholarship, or creative activity and/or teaching.

Salary and Benefits

Rank and salary: Assistant Librarian, Salary Point 1, $61,920 to Associate Library, Salary Point 13, $94,837 (Appointment rank and salary based on qualifications and experience.)

This position is covered by a collective bargaining agreement. The incumbent will be a member of the LX Collective Bargaining Unit represented by the University Council - American Federation of Teachers (UC- AFT).

Benefits: The University of California is one of the largest employers in California, and offers outstanding health and retirement benefits to its employees and their families. Librarians are academic appointees and earn 24 days of vacation and 12 days of sick leave per year. In addition, there are 13 university holidays.
http://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/compensation-and-benefits/index.html

Application Information

Candidates applying by August 6, 2023, will receive first consideration. The position will remain open until filled. See https://www.library.ucdavis.edu/careers/ for this posting and information about working at the UC Davis Library.

Please include a letter of interest addressing qualifications and experience related to the position, a Curriculum Vitae, and names and contact information for at least four references. Diversity, equity, and inclusion is a major component of this position as well as one of the Library’s strategic goals. Please make sure you discuss your commitment to addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion issues throughout library activities in your letter.

This position is a critical position and subject to a background check. Employment is contingent upon successful completion of background investigation including criminal history and identity checks.

The University of California is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer.
UC Davis is a smoke- and tobacco-free campus effective January 1, 2014.

UC Davis is a smoke and tobacco-free campus (http://breathefree.ucdavis.edu/).

We are an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer, and particularly encourage applications from members of historically underrepresented racial/ethnic groups, women, individuals’ with disabilities, veterans, LGBTQ community members, and others who demonstrate the ability to help us achieve our vision of a diverse and inclusive community. For the complete University of California nondiscrimination and affirmative action policy see: http://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4000376/NondiscrimAffirmAct

Under Federal law, the University of California may employ only individuals who are legally able to work in the United States as established by providing documents as specified in the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Certain UC Davis positions funded by federal contracts or sub-contracts require the selected candidate to pass an E-Verify check. More information is available at: http://www.uscis.gov/e-verify

The University of California, Davis (UC Davis) is committed to inclusive excellence by advancing equity, diversity and inclusion in all that we do. UC Davis celebrates the multi-cultural diversity of its community by creating a welcoming and inclusive environment demonstrated through a variety of resources and programs available to academics, staff, and students. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are core values of UC Davis that are embedded within our Principles of Community and are tied with how to best serve our student population. Our excellence in research, teaching, and service can best be fully realized by members of our academic community who share our commitment to these values, which are included in our Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Vision, our strategic plan: “To Boldly Go,” our Principles of Community, the Office of Academic Affairs’ Mission Statement, and the UC Board of Regents Policy 4400: Policy on University of California Diversity Statement. UC Davis is making important progress towards our goal of achieving federal designation as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and an Asian American, Native American, and Pacific Islander-Serving Institution. The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion offers a plethora of resources on their website, and the Office of Health Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (HEDI) has outlined similar goals in their Anti-Racism and DEI Action Plan.” There are a plethora of links available on the About Us webpage where you can learn more about our Administration, Diversity and Inclusion, Rankings, Locations, Native American Land Acknowledgement, Sustainability, Visiting UC Davis, UC Davis Health, and Campus Safety.

The university is consistently ranked among the top institutions in the world for campus sustainability practices by the UI Green Metric World University Rankings. UC Davis is focused on achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and repeatedly shown its commitment to preserving a healthy and sustainable environment for generations to come.

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.