NARA technician positions

The National Archives and Records Administration Conservation Branch wishes to hire two Conservation Technicians to work on a grant-funded, two-year project to preserve and make available a collection of flood-damaged, largely 19th-20th c Hebraic and Arabic books and documents.

As a member of the project team, the successful candidates will assist with conservation treatments to stabilize and prepare selected books and archival materials for digitization and exhibition, collection housing, packing materials for shipment and other project activities.
This position is a term federal appointment. Knowledge of Hebrew and/or Arabic is desirable but not mandatory. The work location is at the modern and well-equipped Archives II building in College Park, MD, a close-in suburb of Washington, DC.

Job and application information is at http://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/301817300 under job announcement number JD555155DGA Conservation Technician. The vacancy announcements closing date: Friday, November 18.

If you are interested in this position, or seek additional information, contact Mary Lynn Ritzenthaler, Director, Conservation Branch or Doris Hamburg, Director, Preservation Programs

Deadline for Jan Merrill-Oldham Professional Development Grant December 1, 2011

The Award is established by the Preservation and Reformatting Section (PARS) of the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) to honor the career and influence of Jan Merrill-Oldham, distinguished leader, author, and mentor in the field of library and archives preservation.

Over the past three decades Ms. Merrill-Oldham has been instrumental in the development of standards and best practices, writing more than forty publications including co-authoring the Guide to the ANSI/NISO/LBI Library Binding Standard, a document used by almost all libraries and commercial library binders. Ms. Merrill-Oldham has served on key committees within ALCTS, ALA, the Association of Research Libraries, the Council on Library and Information Resources, the National Information Standards Organization and many others. She has educated and mentored countless preservation librarians and conservators and her support for students and dedication to the field serves as a model to all of us. In September of 2010, Ms. Merrill-Oldham announced her retirement after a long and notable career in library and archives preservation. In December 2010, she was named the recipient of the ALCTS Ross Atkinson Lifetime Achievement Award. This award recognizes Jan Merrill-Oldham’s wide ranging contributions, deep commitment to the field of library and archives preservation, and her undying support of young professionals by supporting participation in an ALA Annual Conference.

It is important however to encourage new and young preservation librarians and staff to further pursue their professional development. A significant part of that involvement is to attend the ALA Annual Conference to network and learn from their colleagues. Ms. Merrill-Oldham over her career has dedicated herself to mentoring young professionals and it is in recognition of that service that an award that supports professional development and involvement by librarians and para-professionals new to the preservation field be established.

The Jan Merrill-Oldham Professional Development Grant is awarded by the ALCTS Preservation and Reformatting Section to provide librarians and paraprofessionals new to the preservation field with the opportunity to attend a professional conference and encourages professional development through active participation at the national level. The grant is to be used for airfare, lodging, and registration fees to attend the ALA Annual Conference.

For more information, go to http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alcts/awards/grants/jmogrant.cfm.

News Updates: Eligibility for George Stout Grants and PA Status

George Stout Scholarships Now Open to Recent Graduates

Exciting news for recent conservation program grads! If you have graduated from a conservation program within the last two years, you are now eligible to apply for the George Stout Memorial Fund to help defray expenses (up to $1000) to attend professional meetings (previously, student enrollment was a requirement). The deadline for receipt of applications is December 15. You can find a link to the application form at www.conservation-us.org/grants

Emerging Conservators Encouraged to Apply for PA Status

For those of you who have been out of school longer than 2 years, you are probably either eligible or nearly eligible to apply to become a Professional Associate (PA) of AIC. If this is the case for you, now is a good time to think about applying to become a PA. There are many benefits that come along with PA status, including eligibility to apply for Individual Professional Development Scholarships and approval to be listed in the online guide Find a Conservator. For questions about preparing your PA application or the application process and requirements, please contact Ruth Seyler at rseyler [at] conservation-us [dot] org or 202.661.8062. PA application deadlines are January 1, May 1, July 10, and October 1, and a link to the application can be found at www.conservation-us.org/peerreview.