Artifact Researcher / Cataloguer
- Program stream:
- Young Canada Works in Heritage Organizations
- Job title:
- Artifact Researcher / Cataloguer
- Organization name:
- Memory Lane Heritage Village
- Job location:
- Lake Charlotte, Nova Scotia
- Length of assignment:
- 2018-06-04 to 2018-08-24 (12 weeks)
- Hourly wage:
- $13.15
Memory Lane Heritage Village, Lake Charlotte, HRM, NS
Background
The Lake Charlotte Area Heritage Society owns and operates a 1940s era living history museum called Memory Lane Heritage Village. The Village is comprised of 18 rescued buildings from local coastal communities along Nova Scotia’s Eastern Shore. Village life is defined by the innovations of the 1940s and the changes they brought to rural Nova Scotia: electricity, road building, women’s work outside the home, and the time-saving inventions of modern living. The Heritage Village collection is essentially a “working collection” which means that artifacts on display are handled and often used by animators, volunteers and the public. The Village is a young museum and in many cases buildings contain artifacts that have not been thoroughly checked and reviewed for authenticity or for duplication. The Village is slowly moving through each building and authenticating everything on display, ensuring that all items are catalogued and accounted for, and meets the curatorial goals for that building.
Main Objectives
The goal of the 2018 Artifact Researcher / Cataloguer is to eliminate accumulated backlog acquired over the winter month; carry out an inventory and re-labelling project on the Fish Store; and to work with artifact volunteers when available to move the cataloguing process forward.
The Artifact Researcher / Cataloguer will work under the direction of the Executive Director and the Artifact Committee to catalogue the acquisitions accumulated over the last few months (backlog) and carry out an inventory and update of the collection housed in the Village’s Fish Store. This position involves a variety of research methods and is suited to an individual interested in heritage and social and material culture of the 1940s:
1. Research recent acquisitions to ensure that they are date appropriate to the collection (pre 1950).
2. Assist Artifact Committee volunteers, under the direction of the Executive Director, to clean, label and catalogue new items.
3. Label and place new artifacts in interpretive buildings or in long-term storage.
4. Carry out an inventory and review of the Fish Store, cataloguing un-accessioned artifacts, relabeling artifacts that have lost their number, and researching / authenticating questionable artifacts.
5. Direct the Assistant Artifact Cataloguer / Animator when they become available in entering the catalogue records into the database, and utilize other staff and volunteers to photograph newly catalogued items so they may be entered in the database.
Attitudes & Attributes
• has critical thinking skills
• is knowledgeable, or interested in, cataloguing
• is self directed, logical and organized
• has a high level of literacy in English
• is reliable, honest and task oriented
• is comfortable conversing with strangers
Specific Skills and Abilities
• able to work in dusty and damp conditions
(with appropriate safety gear)
• good experience of MS Excel, Word, Filemaker Pro or other database software
• able to lift 15 kg unassisted
• has a knowledge of, or interest in, the 1940s
• ideally possesses a valid driver’s license
• familiar with libraries and internet searching
Terms of Employment
May 14th to August 24th for 15 weeks at 37.5 hrs. / week at $13.15 per hour + 4% vacation pay + free cookhouse lunch. Students must be enrolled in full time studies prior to, and after, the work-term and be under the age of 30 (proof required). The Heritage Society is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes application from all eligible candidates. All resumes will be reviewed, but only candidates eligible for an interview will be contacted. Work terms are subject to funding provided by Young Canada Works.
Apply by April 15th, 2018 with cover letter, resume and two references in PDF format only to:
Thea Wilson-Hammond, Box 1937 Lake Charlotte, HRM, NS B0J 1Y0 email: jobs@heritagevillage.ca
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