State of Maryland

An Archival Assistant I is the entry level of assisting professional archivists at the Maryland State Archives. Employees in this classification assist professional Archivists in one or more of the following areas: Collections Management; Conservation; Image Acquisition; Constituent, Interagency Services and Reference Services; Library; Maryland Manual; and/or Research. Employees in this classification do not supervise other positions.            

Employees in this classification receive close supervision from an Archivist Supervisor or other designated administrative staff.  Work is performed in an office and in record storage areas which are low temperature and low humidity environments.  The work requires climbing ladders and moving heavy objects to retrieve and reshelve manuscript books and boxes of records.    

Positions in this classification are evaluated using the classification job evaluation methodology.  The use of this method involves comparing the assigned duties and responsibilities of a position to the job criteria found in the Nature of Work and Examples of Work Sections of a class specification.           

The Archival Assistant I, the Archival Assistant II, and the Archival Assistant III are differentiated based on the degree of supervision exercised by the supervisor over these employees.  The Archival Assistant I performs duties under close supervision. The Archival Assistant II performs duties under close supervision at times and under general supervision at other times depending on the complexity of the specific duty being performed. The Archival Assistant III performs the full range of duties and responsibilities under general supervision.

Learns to process archival collections of government documents and private papers (such as newspapers, photographs, maps, diaries, postcards, religious records, letters, business papers);

Learns to organize, re-house, describe inventory and label collections;

Learns to add indexing data to online catalogs;

Learns to assist with proper shelving and storage of collections techniques;

Learns to assist with retrieving and returning records to the stacks;

Learns to assist with collections care to properly store and preserve archival materials;

Learns to make wraparounds, boxes, and protective coverings for collection items;

Learns to re-house and move art and artifact series records, to proper storage locations;

Learns to make basic mending and repairs;

Learns to assist with retrieve records and refiling for the general public;

Learns to utilize proper records handling techniques;

Learns to provide customer service; 

Learns to answer basic public inquiries using archival materials and update the customer service database;

Learns to scan record material, provide quality control, and store images on the electronic archives for publication in catalogs for public access;

Learns to assist in maintaining secondary source materials in the Archives’ non-lending library;

Learns to assist with publication retrieval and refiling, shelf reading, accessioning new acquisitions of books and reports, updating the catalog, and labeling of new materials;

Learns to assist with compiling and updating information about the executive, legislative, and judicial levels of state and local government for publication in the Maryland Manual Online;

Learns to research and write information for the web to create a guide for Maryland government agencies;

Learns to conduct primary and secondary source research to contribute to archival projects;

Learns to mine records to add data to programs such as the Court Record Background Research, the Study of the Legacy of Slavery in Maryland, MAYIS Indigenous Peoples Project, the Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame, Maryland 250 Commission, Artistic Properties Commission and the Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission;

May learn to give tours of the Archives and other associated buildings highlighting collections;

Performs other related duties.

Ability to use indexes and catalogs to locate documents and other collection materials;

Ability to arrange documents in alphabetical, numerical, or chronological order;

Education:   Completion of the Ninth grade.

Experience: None.

Employees may be required to lift up to 50 pounds when recorded shipments arrive and climb ladders.  Employees in this classification must exercise caution during the retrieval and replacement of heavy volumes from library shelves, particularly when using library ladders.  Employees may work a rotating shift and may be required to work Saturdays. 

Class specifications are broad descriptions covering groups of positions used by various State departments and agencies. Position descriptions maintained by the department or agency specifically address the essential job functions of each position.

This is a Skilled Service classification in the State Personnel Management System.  All positions in this classification are Skilled Service positions.  Some positions in Skilled Service classifications may be designated Special Appointment in accordance with the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 6-405, Annotated Code of Maryland.  

This classification is not assigned to a bargaining unit, as indicated by the designation of S (Supervisor), M (Manager), T (Agency Head), U (Board or Commission Member), W (Student), X (Used by Agency or Excluded by Executive Order), or Z (Confidential).  As provided by the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 3-102, special appointment, temporary, contractual, supervisory, managerial, and confidential employees are excluded from collective bargaining.  Additionally, certain executive branch agencies are exempt from collective bargaining and all positions in those agencies are excluded from collective bargaining.  

Employees in this classification are eligible to receive overtime compensation. An employee who works more than the normal workweek is entitled to be compensated for that overtime as provided by the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 8-305.  

This classification is one level in a Non-Competitive Promotion (NCP) series.  NCP promotions are promotions by which employees may advance in grade and class level from trainee to full performance level in a classification series.  In order to be noncompetitively promoted to the next level in an NCP series, an employee must: 1) perform the main purpose of the class, as defined by the Nature of Work section of the class specification; 2) receive the type of supervision defined in the class specification and 3) meet the minimum qualifications of the classification.