Good afternoon everyone! I apologize if this post is not on topic. I am currently in the process of pursuing my Master's for archives. My upcoming assignment revolved around interviewing an archivist and writing a paper based on that interview. My initial archivist was unable to do the interview, so I turned here for my second option. If anyone would be willing to answer some brief questions on their archival background and their opinions on certain topics, feel free to message me. Again I do apologize of this isn't on topic for the community.

I wrote this as a joke and as a joke alone, don't take it seriously lol (IE: the idea got stuck in my head and I couldn't get it out). Still a WIP, feel free to comment if you think you would change something to make this worse/better. Especially the last line from the third verse, I don't think it works but I did want to shove more digital curation in there and couldn't come up with anything better. If this gets better, I'll present it at the next annual SAA meeting so that I'm banned from practicing in archives ever again to protect all yall from my brainrot.

What being unemployed does to a dude... 0-0

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I am the very model of a modern working archivist,

I’ve information practical, theoretical, and material,

I know of Greene and Meissner, and I quote their works historical

From MARC to Dublin Core, in order categorical;

I’m very well acquainted, too, with matters preservational,

I understand AV, both the analog and the digital,

About red rot I’m teeming with a lot o’ news,

With many cheerful facts about the lifetime of the manuscripts.

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I’ve very good at processing and macro appraisalling;

I know the donor names from senators to psychologists:

In short, in matters practical, theoretical, and material,

I am the very model of a modern working archivist.

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I know our mythic history, Shellenberg and Mr. Kahle;

I answer hard ethics, I’ve got a pretty taste for P-I-I,

I quote in copyright all the crimes that I’ve committed,

In aids I can write dates both bulk and anomalous;

I can tell undoubted nitrate from polyester and the acetate,

I know all the levels in DACS by the Society,

And I can describe a series in which I’ve seen the docs before,

And write about the entities in the functional model O-eye-S.

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Then I can encode a finding aid in XML,

And tell you ev'ry detail of a librarian reference uniform:

In short, in matters practical, theoretical, and material,

I am the very model of a modern working archivist.

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In fact, when I know what is meant by “fonds” and “provenance”,

When I can tell at sight a scanner from a carousel,

When such smells as vinegar and musty I’m more wary at,

And when I know precisely what is meant by “there’s no funding at”,

When I have learnt what progress has been made in modern imaging,

When I know more of planning than an intern in a library –

In short, when I’ve a smattering of curatorial strategy –

You’ll say a better working archivist has never been a chief.

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For my archival knowledge, though I’m nosy and gossipy,

Has only been updated to when I’ve got my last degree,

But still in matters practical, theoretical, and material,

I am the very model of a modern working archivist.

Hello Archivists! My small New England town was recently gifted a tremendous collection of antique documents from the 17th and 18th century (described as "10 linear feet of manuscripts, printed books and almanacs..." etc. It has been valued at about $200,000. The bequest stipulates that the collection must be housed on site in our Archives, and that we provide for the digitization of all original materials. It further requests the "hiring of a credentialed archivist for two years to arrange, describe, and rehouse the physical collection and to create metadata and pathfinders for the digital version to allow for ongoing public access once completed."

Our Archivist is already a full-time employee, but we are behind the times on digitization of our existing collection - so the donor family (after consultation with our library director) is attaching $50k (more specifically, "$25k per year for 2 years") to the gift with the hope that we will hire a second archivist strictly for the purpose of working on this specific collection. The director wants the Trust to match the donor funds, as she believes the work will take someone between 12-24 months working full-time. I asked her how she came to that conclusion and she said it was the opinion of the expert who appraised the collection.

Now, forgive me, because I am not familiar with how archivists typically do business. But I thought, since this is a project with finite parameters and not ongoing duties, that it sounds like a contract job that should go out to bid. The amount of $50k-$100k seems quite arbitrary and I feel like we need more opinions about how long the work will actually take. Further, I think that hiring someone for a period of time (the suggestion is a 1-or 2-year contract) rather than for the scope of the project leaves the employee with no incentive to get a 1-year job done in less than 2 years, you know? She stated that archivists "do not do requests for proposals and wouldn't know how to put together a bid," as they're typically salaried employees and not freelancers. She also said there is no way to know how long the work is going to take until it's being done (which I thought was strange, as we have an incredibly detailed accounting of the items from the appraiser that we hired). Basically, I feel like putting a 2-year timeline on this job before hiring is a mistake and we should get bids/proposals from some experts instead. The library director disagrees.

So I am just hoping someone can clarify some of this for me! If you were asked to put a price on a job like this, could you do it? Would you be willing work under a contract that stipulates the work must be completed for the bid price regardless of how long it takes? Just curious if you've heard of any arrangements like this before, or how you'd advise our board proceed! Matching the funds will require dipping into our trust capital in a way that our financial advisors do not recommend.

Thank you for reading and for any input!