*REMINDER - CLOSING DATE FOR SALTERS' COMPANY FREELANCE CATALOGUING ARCHIVIST IS FRIDAY 10TH JANUARY*

The Salters’ Company, London
Cataloguing Archivist, FREELANCE 

BRIEF

The Salters’ Company is number nine of the Great Twelve City of London livery companies.  Founded in the middle ages as a religious fraternity and trade guild, the oldest document in the Company’s archive dates from 1216.  Its members’ trading interests were diverse and not solely focussed on salt, with charitable giving always a key objective.  This continues today through the activities of the Salters’ Institute, which supports science education, and the Salters’ Charitable Foundation, through which project grants and general donations are made.  Support is also given to the residents of the Company’s almshouses in Maidenhead (founded 1661) and Watford (originally founded in London in the 15th and 16th centuries).

Following an HLF grant award in 2015, there has been an active and very successful Public Programme at Salters’ Hall, offering tours for groups and educational events for families, students and school pupils of all ages.  The archives play a key role in the Public Programme and are also regularly used to answer internal and external research enquiries.   A fully functioning and current archive catalogue is essential for the delivery of all these activities.

The Salters’ archive catalogue originates from the mid-20th century and has since grown to include around 85% of the current total archive holdings.  In 2002, the section of the catalogue relating to the deeds of the Salters’ estates in England, 1216-1946, was uploaded to The National Archives’ website as part of Access to Archives (A2A), which has since become part of The National Archives’ Discovery catalogue.

The Salters’ catalogue is in the format of a Microsoft-Excel spreadsheet.  As the Cataloguing Archivist, you will work to ISAD (G) to undertake data restructuring to ensure that this catalogue can continue to be used in-house and also uploaded to Discovery using The National Archives’ Manage Your Collections service.  Where necessary, you will check information within the current catalogue against the original hard-copy catalogue and the original archive material: this material spans eight centuries.  You will also consult original material in order to add new information to fields as necessary.

It is unclear how long it will take to complete this project.  Bearing this in mind, the principal objective is to start it and make as much progress as possible given the number of days that you will be working, (see below).

You will be a professionally qualified archivist who loves cataloguing, whilst being equally appreciative of the wider positive impact that a good catalogue will bring to the Salters’ highly valued Public Programme and research activities.  Whilst past cataloguing experience is desirable, applications from more recently qualified archivists would be welcomed, and training in the use of Manage Your Collections is available if required.  Knowledge of Latin and pre-1600 palaeography are desirable.

Length of contract and hours of work:  we are offering this contract on a freelance basis, with flexible hours to fit around the Salters’ Archivist’s two day working week.  Applicants should indicate how many days’ work they would undertake for the fixed fee (see below).  Whilst it will not be necessary to work on the same two days (normally Tuesdays and Thursdays) as the Archivist, some overlap is advisable in order to make the most effective progress.

Fee for project:  there is a fixed fee of £5,000, payable on receipt of invoices at agreed times.  The successful applicant will be responsible for their own national insurance and tax.

If you would like to apply for this position, please send your CV and a covering letter to the Salters’ Company Archivist, Katie George, at [log in to unmask] .  In your covering letter you should outline what you would do towards achieving the desired outcomes of the project.
Closing date:  Friday 10 January 2020
Interview date:  Tuesday 21 January 2020
Start date:  March 2020
Further information about the Salters’ Company and Archives is available at www.salters.co.uk .  
For any other enquiries, please email Archivist Katie George, as above. (Please note that Katie works part-time, Tuesdays and Thursdays).

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