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Acquisitions Archivist - Bancroft Library

Position overview

Position title: Associate Librarian, Career Status or Potential Career Status
Salary range: The UC academic salary scales set the minimum pay determined by rank and salary point at appointment. See the following table(s) for the current salary scale(s) for this position: https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/2025-26/represented-july-2025-scales/t26-b.pdf. A reasonable estimate for this position is $80,349-$107,708.

Percent time: 100%

Anticipated start: As soon as March 2026. Start date is flexible.

Position duration: This is a full-time potential career appointment.

Application Window
Open date: December 1, 2025

Next review date: Thursday, Jan 1, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date: Saturday, Feb 28, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

Position description

The University of California, Berkeley is seeking a creative, self-motivated, user-oriented, and collaborative Acquisitions Archivist to join the technical services team at The Bancroft Library. As a member of the Acquisitions and Collections Control team and reporting to the Head of Acquisitions and Collections Control, the Acquisitions Archivist serves as a key team member for coordinating, tracking, and stewarding incoming materials in all formats.

In the course of performing acquisitions work, the incumbent will collaborate closely and cross-functionally with various internal and external stakeholders, including other Acquisitions and Collections Control Unit staff, curators, accessioning and processing archivists, catalogers, the Digital Collections Unit, UC Berkeley Library's Scholarly Communication and Information Policy (SCIP), and various library donors and vendors. This position will work with the Bancroft curatorial team as well as technical services and public services to build and implement a holistic and extensible collections management approach to the intake of special collections informed by an understanding of the resources needed to responsibly acquire and steward materials.

Responsibilities
The Acquisitions Archivist is tasked with, under the supervision and authority of the Head of Acquisitions and Collections Control, collaboratively developing and implementing acquisitions and collections control policies and procedures for materials acquired by the Acquisitions and Collections Control Unit within the Technical Services Division of The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley.

Responsibilities Include

• Contributing to policies, procedures, productive workflows, and standards compliance to insure a user-centered, access-driven approach to acquiring and stewarding special collections materials, including both archival and large bibliographic collections;


• Under the supervision of the Head of Acquisitions and Collections Control, coordinating and tracking the process of acquiring collections. This work may include performing and supporting pre-custodial interventions, materials transfer and stabilization, and baseline intellectual control for collections of all formats and sizes;


• Coordinating the intake logistics for archival acquisitions of all formats, using efficient and extensible pathways to access;


• In collaboration with curators and colleagues in technical services, developing processes and workflows to support extensible management of both archival and bibliographic collections;


• In collaboration with curators, catalogers, and accessioning archivists, contributing to the creation of baseline administrative, physical, and intellectual control over new and past archival and bibliographic acquisitions in accordance with The Bancroft Library's acquisitions procedures and professional best practices;


• Cultivating and maintaining excellent working relationships with vendors, dealers, sellers, donors, and depositors, as well as colleagues across the library, including Bancroft curators and SCIP;


• Participating in standing committees, meetings, and working groups as appropriate;


• Collaborating with accessioning and processing archivists as well as Bancroft's Stacks Manager to manage archival and large bibliographic acquisitions in stacks space onsite at The Bancroft Library and offsite at Bancroft's Regatta facility;


• Monitoring current developments, trends, and emerging technologies in the fields relating to special collections acquisitions work and engaging with the professional community on a local, state, and/or national level;


• Collaborating with staff and leadership to implement the Total Cost of Stewardship Framework at The Bancroft Library;


• Supervising the work of acquisitions students and interns;


• Performing other duties as assigned.

The UC Berkeley Library is committed to supporting and encouraging respect and empathy, and nurturing a culture where all employees thrive. The Library seeks candidates who recognize and appreciate one another's contributions, expertise, and accomplishments, and will strive to provide equitable access to a diverse set of collections and services. For more information, please see the UC Berkeley Library Statement of Values.

UC professional librarians are academic appointees and are represented by an exclusive bargaining agent, the University Council - American Federation of Teachers (UC-AFT). This position is in the bargaining unit. Librarians are entitled to appropriate professional development leave, vacation leave, sick leave, and all other benefits granted to non-faculty academic personnel. The University has an excellent retirement system and sponsors a variety of group health, dental, vision, and life insurance plans in addition to other benefits.

Department: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu

UC Berkeley Library Website: https://www.lib.berkeley.edu

UC Berkeley Library Statement of Values: https://www.lib.berkeley.edu/about/library-values

Qualifications
Basic qualifications (required at time of application)
Advanced degree or current enrollment in an advanced degree program.

Additional qualifications (required at time of start)

• Advanced degree


• Two or more years of work experience with special collections materials

Preferred qualifications

• Master's degree from an American Library Association (ALA) accredited institution program or equivalent degree;


• Demonstrated knowledge of accessioning, appraisal, arrangement, and description of personal papers and organizational records in many formats including manuscripts, records series, photographs, born digital material, newspapers, books, posters, audio, film, microfilm, fine art, and objects;


• Demonstrated knowledge of archival theory, principles, practices, and trends in archival appraisal, acquisitions, and accessioning;


• Demonstrated knowledge of ethics in archival appraisal, acquisitions, and accessioning;


• Demonstrated knowledge of and/or experience coordinating the movement and transfer of special collections materials, including archival materials in analog and born-digital formats;


• Demonstrated knowledge of an/or experience coordinating the packing and movement of bibliographic collections;


• Demonstrated experience working with Alma (or other integrated library systems) and ArchivesSpace (or other archival collection management systems);


• Demonstrated knowledge of and/or experience in appraising and acquiring born-digital archival materials;


• Demonstrated understanding of intellectual property, copyright, privacy, and other access issues strongly preferred;


• Demonstrated ability to deal tactfully with donors and to manage sensitive material with care;


• Demonstrated ability to support user-centered services for all users;


• Demonstrated experience developing workflows and processes in library environments;


• Demonstrated ability to work collegially across departments and to organize and manage projects with multiple stakeholders;


• Demonstrated analytical, documentation, and communication skills and attention to detail;


• Evidence of strong interpersonal and excellent oral and written communication skills;


• Demonstrated high-level of technical competency kept up to date through continuous learning;


• Demonstrated commitment to the Library's values.

The Bancroft Library is interested in finding the best overall candidate for the job and recognizes that not all relevant experience looks the same. We encourage you to apply, even if you don't meet all of the preferred qualifications/experiences listed above.

Application Requirements

Document requirements

• Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.


• Cover Letter

Reference requirements

• 3-5 required (contact information only)

Apply link: https://aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF05166

Help contact: richard.brown@berkeley.edu

About UC Berkeley

UC Berkeley is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in our public mission of research, teaching, and service, consistent with UC Regents Policy 4400 and University of California Academic Personnel policy (APM 210 1-d). These values are embedded in our Principles of Community, which reflect our passion for critical inquiry, debate, discovery and innovation, and our deep commitment to contributing to a better world. Every member of the UC Berkeley community has a role in sustaining a safe, caring and humane environment in which these values can thrive.

The University of California, Berkeley is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or protected veteran status.

For more information, please refer to the University of California's Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment Policy and the University of California's Anti-Discrimination Policy.

In searches when letters of reference are required all letters will be treated as confidential per University of California policy and California state law. Please refer potential referees, including when letters are provided via a third party (i.e., dossier service or career center), to the UC Berkeley statement of confidentiality prior to submitting their letter.

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.

Unless stated otherwise, unambiguously, in the position description, this position does not include sponsorship of a new consular H-1B visa petition that would require payment of the $100,000 supplemental fee.

As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct.

• "Misconduct" means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.


• UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy


• UC Anti-Discrimination Policy


• APM - 035: Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment

Job location
Berkeley, CA


To apply, visit https://aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF05166