The Wisconsin Historical Society, considered one of the nation's finest historical institutions, is a State of Wisconsin government agency as well as a mission-driven entrepreneurial organization.  The Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS), founded in 1846, ranks as one of the largest, most active and diversified state historical societies in the nation. As both a state agency and a private membership organization, its mission is to help people connect to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing stories. At its core, WHS believes that increasing the public's knowledge of history has profound societal, cultural, and economic benefit. Its library, archives and collections, historic sites and museums, historic preservation office, and extensive educational programs and community outreach are focused on our vision to enrich and transform lives through unparalleled access to history.  Click here for more information about WHS' mission, vision, and core values.

WHS is committed to being a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization because we truly believe this is the most effective way to attract, engage, and retain the best talent and the most meaningful way to support our mission.  

Working under limited supervision, this position assists the Metadata Specialist with assessment and remediation of descriptive metadata for the Society’s digital assets. This position will primarily update legacy metadata in anticipation of the implementation of a DAMS (Digital Asset Management System). The work of this position will require archives processing knowledge, research capabilities, and familiarity with library and archives metadata.

Duties:

• Update legacy metadata for archival and library digital assets in preparation for a new DAMS
  • Review existing metadata exported from legacy systems
  • Analyze metadata for appropriate cross-walk to a new schema
  • Research validity and completeness of legacy metadata
  • Update metadata as needed
• Create new metadata for newly digitized assets
• Assist with the review of workflows and processes for creating metadata for digital assets in the DAMS
• Assist with EAD (Encoded Archival Description) finding aids

Pay is $15.00 per hour. This classification is in schedule and class 02-11.

Please note this is a Limited Term Employment position so it does not include paid time off or benefits upon hire.

A criminal background check will be conducted by WHS prior to an offer of employment to determine if the circumstances of any conviction may be related to the job.

This is a Limited Term Employment (LTE) position and limited to 1,039 hours. This position will be part time and average 20 hours per week. 

Wisconsin residency is required for Limited Term Employment positions.

Limited Term Employment (LTE) positions are not civil service classified positions, do not give any rights to permanent civil service classified positions and do not lead to permanent status. 

WHS does not sponsor work visas.  Any appointment made will be contingent on the applicant being able to prove valid status to work in the United States.

• Strong attention to detail
• Problem solving skills
• Knowledge of archival and library cataloging rules and procedures
• Knowledge of archival metadata schemas such as Dublin Core
• Knowledge of descriptive subject thesauruses
• Ability to work effectively as a member of a team
• Ability to communicate effectively, both in writing and verbally, with supervisors and colleagues.

Apply online! To apply, click “Apply for Job” to start the application process.  Then, you will access your existing account or to create a new account if you don’t have an account. Once you are logged in, click “Apply for Job.” Follow the steps outlined in the application process and submit your application.

Your letter of qualifications and resume are very important parts of your application and are used during our evaluation process to determine your qualifications as they relate to the job. For instructions on developing your resume and letter of qualifications for your application and what should be included in these materials, click here.

Submitted materials will be evaluated and the most qualified applicants will be invited to participate in the next step of the hiring process.

We are an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer seeking a diverse and talented workforce. 

Questions can be directed to dawn.garcia@wisconsinhistory.org or (608) 264-6670

Please see the Frequently Asked Questions for general wisc.jobs user information and technical assistance.

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.