Barnard College · 4 days ago
Director of Barnard Archives and Special Collections
New York, NY
Full-time
Onsite
Lead/Staff, Director/Executive
$120K/yr - $125K/yr
5+ years expBarnard College is a distinguished liberal arts college for women, affiliated with Columbia University. The Director of Barnard Archives and Special Collections provides visionary leadership, ensuring the long-term stewardship and accessibility of feminist archival materials while managing daily operations and collaborating across departments.
Continuing EducationEducationHigher Education
Responsibilities
Provides leadership, vision, and management for the Barnard Archives and Special Collections, developing policies, setting long-term goals, ensuring alignment with the mission and strategic priorities of Barnard College
Responsible for overseeing the operations of the Archives, including the hiring, training, and supervising professional staff (1-FTE), graduate assistants (2), and student workers (4+), fostering a collaborative and inclusive work culture
Manages development, strategic planning, and grant-seeking initiatives that strengthen the Archives’ resources and visibility
Develops and communicates policies and procedures for the use of materials housed in the Archives
Leads efforts to appraise, acquire, process, document, and preserve Barnard’s institutional history and special collections materials in the areas of feminist history in all formats, including born-digital and hybrid collections, with adherence to standards and technical best practices shaping the future of the collection
Develops and maintains sustainable digital preservation workflows, policies, and infrastructure in collaboration with vendors, Barnard Information Technology (BCIT) ATLIS staff
Manages archives software and systems, including locally-hosted servers, and cloud-hosted/vendor-supported digital collections
Management of physical plant; monitoring humidity and temperature, working with Capital Projects on improvements to space
Directs, plans, prepares, and promotes exhibitions, loans, and public programming of archival materials, in collaboration with faculty, librarians, and other campus partners
Collaborates with faculty across disciplines to integrate primary source literacy and feminist archival theory into the curriculum
Manages and conducts archival and primary source reference, consultation, and instructional services to faculty, students, and administrators, as well as outside researchers
Actively engages with Personal Librarians, Milstein Centers, faculty and students as partners in integrating archival research and methods into the curriculum, exhibition, programmatic work
Builds partnerships with feminist, activist, and community archives to advance collective documentation and preservation goals, regionally and nationally
Serves as the primary liaison to Columbia University Libraries’ archival and special collections community and coordinates with Columbia staff on the discovery of Barnard archival collections in Columbia systems such as FOLIO and ArcLight
Engages alumnae, donors, and the public in supporting and sustaining Barnard’s archival mission
Work closely with the Dean of the Library, senior management team, General Counsel, and the Office of Development/Alumnae Relations (DevAR), to create fundraising strategies, cultivate donors, and write proposals to support the goals and activities of the Archives and Special Collections
Qualification
Required
Master's degree in library and information science (ALA-accredited), archival studies, or a closely related field
Minimum 5-7 years of progressively responsible experience in archives or special collections, including supervisory experience
Demonstrated expertise in archival theory and practice, including digital preservation and management of born-digital materials
Basic understanding of command line interface, programmatic problem-solving, and adapting open source tools to process, describe, and make archival materials accessible
Experience providing reference and instructional services in archives
Proven record of work in feminist, activist, or community-based archives or collections
Strong leadership, collaboration, and communication skills
Commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and ethical stewardship in archival practice
Preferred
Knowledge of metadata and descriptive standards (e.g. DACS, EAD, MODS, Dublin Core) and digital preservation systems (e.g. Preservica, Archivematica). Knowledge of EAD, MODS or other metadata standards, ArchivesSpace or other archival management software, Archipelago or other digital asset management systems
Experience managing reference and/or instructional services in an archives
Experience processing archival collections, including born digital archival materials
Knowledge of Folio or other ILS, MARC description
Interest and participation in relevant professional organizations
Successful track record in grant writing and project management
Familiarity with metadata workflows and digital humanities tools that support discovery and access
Benefits
Health, vision, dental, and retirement plans
Generous paid time off
Tuition benefits
Company
Barnard College
Barnard College provides liberal arts education to young women, offering the unparalleled advantages of an outstanding residential college.
1001-5000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Barnard College has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (5)
2024 (4)
2023 (6)
2022 (2)
2020 (3)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageLeadership Team
Eileen DiBenedetto
Chief Financial Officer and Vice President for Finance
Kelli A. Murray, JD, MBA
Executive Vice President for Strategy and Chief Administrative Officer
Recent News
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2025-08-27
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