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Project Archivist, The Algebra Project Inc, Cambridge, MA

Description:

The Algebra Project (AP) is a mathematics literacy effort established in the 1980s by the late civil rights activist and math educator Bob Moses designed to help the most vulnerable students acquire the mathematical knowledge and practices necessary to: (a) graduate high school on time in four years, (b) succeed in college and career, and (c) participate fully as informed citizens in our highly technical, global society. Acquiring mathematics literacy is essential to family- and community-supporting workforce participation in the 21st Century. Based in Cambridge, MA, the Algebra Project works in an organizing mode to identify resources to address this problem, drawing on lessons from the organizing tradition of Mrs. Ella J. Baker and the Mississippi Theater of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.

Description:

For the past 40 years, the Algebra Project has amassed reports, newsletters, classroom instructional materials, memos, videos, newspaper articles and organizational records. We are beginning the process of archiving the material. Over the next few months, we hope to create a blueprint for the archive with both public and private access, and to begin its development.

We are seeking a graduate student to work with a small committee to discuss how to best establish the Project’s archival collection, create standards for inclusion in the archive with both public and private access, and to develop a plan for cataloging materials.

The graduate student will help the Committee to

• Survey the types of materials and issues for archiving, indexing and making available:

◦ Videos, both digitized and analog

◦ Written reports, such as published and unpublished research, conference proceedings and memos, annual reports and newsletters

◦ News articles

◦ Organizational records

◦ Historical documents

• In collaboration with the Committee, review sample documents proposed for the archive and advise on issues for each type

• Recommend materials for deaccessioning and/or disposal;

• Estimate the physical and digital space needed to host material;

• Advise on best housing, storage, and access practices;

• Estimate remaining time needed to process the collection in full

• By end of process, we will have comprehensive advisement on how to proceed with indexing and archiving the entire collection

Qualifications:

• Experience in organizational archiving

• Knowledge of digitizing and preservation

• Skilled in communication and collaboration

• Comfortable taking lead and working in a context of ambiguity

-Current or recent graduate of an archival studies program

-Completed archives coursework, including: LIS 438, LIS 440, LIS 442

-Knowledge of archival appraisal and prior processing experience preferred

Anticipated Term of Internship: 21 hours (3 days) per week, June 6 – August 12, 2022 (10 weeks)

Internship Compensation:
$20/hour for up to 21 hours per week, over 10 weeks, June 6 through August 12th, 2022.

How to apply:

Please send a letter of application with a resume to Ben Moynihan, Interim Executive Director, The Algebra Project, Inc., 99 Bishop Richard Allen Drive, Cambridge, MA 02139. E-Mail: [email protected] 

Students should include a list of all completed LIS courses with their application. Candidates of color are strongly encouraged to apply.  

The Algebra Project, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, gender, age, disability or sexual orientation. All applicants applying for U.S. job openings must be authorized to work in the United States and in compliance with guidelines established for Federally-funded projects.