Justice, Equality and Community Archivist

Davidson's E.H. Little Library seeks a Justice, Equality, and Community Archivist to connect archival and manuscript collections and library resources with curricular, co-curricular, and administrative justice-oriented initiatives that seek to reframe the narratives our college tells about itself and to build meaningful connections across our college community. Serving as a member of the Archives & Special Collection team, this position will play a pivotal role in the college's ongoing Race, Slavery, and Reconciliation initiatives and the teaching and programming activities of Davidson's new George Lawrence Abernethy Library, set to open in Fall 2027. This is a full-time, 12-month position with a start date in Summer 2025. Please apply before April 4, 2025, for fullest consideration. Candidates are asked to submit a resume and a cover letter addressing your knowledge and skills related to this position. Information about how to submit the application documents can be found at https://employment.davidson.edu

In this position, you will:

• Develop and implement outreach programs and interpretative exhibits for the Archives & Community Room of the future George Lawrence Abernethy Library
• Create exhibits to advance an understanding of the college's history, with a particular focus on historically underrepresented groups at the college and in the community
• Teach, provide research for, and integrate archival materials into courses and projects, including those that meet the Justice, Equality & Community curricular requirement to "identify, analyze, and/or create artifacts addressing historical or contemporary manifestations of injustice and/or structural inequality"
• Partner with the Archivist for Community Records and Collections Curation and the Archivist for College Records and Collections Curation to support students conducting oral histories and acquiring collections for classes and other research projects to ensure that policies are met and standards are followed for inclusion in the Archives & Special Collections
• Provide research support for students, faculty, staff, and community members investigating the college's history through a justice-oriented lens; assist students and faculty in locating funding sources for their research
• Collaborate with the Access and Processing Archivist to promote accessible description of departmental collections
• Utilize departmental social media to promote collections and activities
• Assist the Public Services Librarian for Archives & Special Collections in answering departmental reference questions, staffing research appointments, and teaching classes
• Serve on assigned library and campus committees, steering groups, and project groups
• Monitor national trends, advances, and best practices in archival practice, pedagogy, and oral history and evaluate the potential application of these strategies to the Davidson College Archives & Special Collections

Qualifications that will help you flourish in this role:

• You are excited to connect learners and researchers with archival resources to enhance student learning and faculty teaching
• You are familiar with archival theory, practice, and description and are eager to apply these to inclusive and justice-oriented campus initiatives
• You have knowledge of inclusive and critical pedagogy and a willingness to implement these theories in many types of instructional settings
• You are committed to providing reference and research services to students, staff, faculty, and community members with varying levels of research experience
• You are practiced in creating interpretive exhibits, developing and implementing programs, and conducting outreach with social media
• You are a thoughtful, open-minded, collaborative colleague with strong interpersonal and communication skills
• You are resilient, adaptable, and demonstrate a capacity to operate flexibly in a rapidly evolving landscape
• You cultivate an optimistic mindset
• You are committed to creating an inclusive environment that values and celebrates difference

For this job, we require that:

• You have a Master's Degree in Library and Information Science from a program accredited by the American Library Association, a Master's Degree in Public History, or a Master's Degree in History with a concentration in Public History

About Us:

Guided by our organizational values, the staff of the E.H. Little Library work to advance the college's purpose in developing disciplined and creative minds for lives of leadership and service. We do this by offering expertise, space, resources, and services that facilitate research, provide access to, and foster the creation of knowledge. Our library staff play a critical role in expanding the global reach of traditional scholarship, preserving born-digital materials, supporting digital scholarship, and championing equitable and sustainable access to information. Our library is a proud recipient of the 2021 ACRL Excellence in Academic Libraries Award.

There has never been a more exciting time to join our team! As Davidson embarks on a transformative, campus-wide strategic plan, we are excited to explore how our expertise, programs, and resources will advance the college's key priorities. We take pride in our strong collaborations with campus partners such as the John Crosland Jr. Center for Teaching and Learning and the Jay Hurt Hub for Innovation and Entrepreneurship-strategic alliances that highlight the library's central role in the teaching and learning mission. We are inspired by the college's public commitment to racial equity and justice. To create an inclusive learning community and to reflect the diversity of Davidson experiences, we collaborate on projects that reframe the narratives our college tells about itself, develop collections in partnership with students and faculty, and create meaningful community connections. We seek a thoughtful colleague who joins us in embracing a special set of responsibilities as we articulate the college's relationship to the past, confront our present moment, and chart a hopeful future. Read more about Davidson College's commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion here: https://www.davidson.edu/diversity-equity-inclusion.