Elma Lewis Digital Project Assistant

About the Opportunity

About Northeastern University Library

The Northeastern University Library is hiring part-time assistants for a grant-funded project supported by Boston’s Community Preservation Department. The project, Black Art and Joy in Boston (and Beyond): Elma Lewis and the National Center of Afro-American Artists, focuses on digitizing, cataloging, and publishing materials from four archival collections documenting the life and legacy of Elma Lewis (1921–2004). These collections include her personal papers, as well as records from the Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts, the National Center of Afro-American Artists, and its museum, highlighting her work to promote Afrocentric visual and performing arts.

Job Summary

Part-time assistants will contribute to the descriptive work for the Elma Lewis collections, with assignments determined by project priorities. The assistant will work within the highly collaborative Digital Production Services department and also partner with staff from Archives and Special Collections.

Hours: 15–18 hours a week.

Location: Hybrid and fully remote work available.

Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities

• Catalog textual materials in spreadsheets according to departmental standards and project-specific instructions from the Project Librarian

Additional tasks may include:

• Perform post-production processing of digitized texts
• Assist with automated captioning workflows for audiovisual materials
• Develop contextual documentation about the people, places, and objects represented in the collections

Minimum Qualifications

Required

• Some experience with metadata creation
• Demonstrated interest in inclusive cataloging and reparative description
• Strong attention to detail
• Ability to thrive in a collaborative environment

Preferred

• Enrollment in an American Library Association (ALA)-accredited Master of Library Science (MLS) or Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS), or equivalent experience
• Professional experience with metadata schemas and item-level archival cataloging
• Experience using Metadata Object Description Schema (MODS), Dublin Core, or Encoded Archival Description (EAD)
• Familiarity with authority files and controlled vocabularies, such as Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), Library of Congress Name Authority File (LCNAF), and Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT)
• Knowledge of controlled vocabularies and thesauri
• Exposure to inclusive and reparative description principles
• Proven ability to work independently
• Strong communication skills

Required Documents

• Resume

Position Type

Temporary

Additional Information

Northeastern University considers factors such as candidate work experience, education and skills when extending an offer.

Northeastern has a comprehensive benefits package for benefit eligible employees. This includes medical, vision, dental, paid time off, tuition assistance, wellness & life, retirement- as well as commuting & transportation. Visit https://hr.northeastern.edu/benefits/ for more information.

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

This job is for a current or anticipated job vacancy.

Pay Rate:

$21/hour

About Us

Founded in 1898, Northeastern is a global research university and the recognized leader in experiential lifelong learning. Our approach of integrating real-world experience with education, research, and innovation empowers our students, faculty, alumni, and partners to create worldwide impact.   

Our global university system provides our community and academic, government, and industry partners with unique opportunities to think locally and act globally. The system—which includes 14 campuses across the U.S., U.K., and Canada, 300,000-plus alumni, and 3,000 partners worldwide—serves as a platform for scaling ideas, talent, and solutions.

The university’s residential campuses for undergraduate and graduate degrees are located in Boston, London, and Oakland, California. Our research and graduate campuses are in the Massachusetts communities of Burlington and Nahant; Arlington, Virginia; Charlotte, North Carolina; Miami; Portland, Maine; Seattle; Silicon Valley, California; Toronto; and Vancouver.

Northeastern’s personalized, experiential undergraduate and graduate programs lead to degrees through the doctorate in 10 colleges and schools across our campuses. Learning emphasizes the intersection of data, technology, and human literacies, uniquely preparing graduates for careers of the future and lives of fulfillment and accomplishment.

Our research enterprise, with an R1 Carnegie classification, is solutions oriented and spans the world. Our faculty scholars and students work in teams that cross not just disciplines, but also sectors—aligned around solving today’s highly interconnected global challenges and focused on transformative impact for humankind.