Many of you on this mailing list will I am sure know John Thackray,
Archivist at The Natural History Museum. Unfortunately John has been found
to have throat cancer and is this week beginning a course of treatment
which we hope will quickly cure him of this. John is cheerful and positive
about the outcome of his treatment and focused on returning to work so he
can finish the book he is writing on the Museum. Even if all goes well it
will obviously be a few months before he will be fully back at work. If
any of you who know John want to contact him please contact me and I can
let you have contact details.

Whilst John is away from work we need to keep things running in our
Archives and as John is the only member of staff in the Archives section
that does leave us with a problem. As Head of Information Collections I am
John's line manager but I am a librarian, not a trained archivist, and know
my limitations and lack of time. Consequently we are looking to appoint a
temporary archivist to cover all the requirements of providing the Museums
archives service.

Initially we would like to appoint someone for three months but there is a
strong possibility that this will be extended for a further three months.
The salary for the post would be pro-rata to £20-25,000 per annum,
according to experience, with pro rata leave of 25 days per annum. Ideally
we would like the successful candidate to start work in early January.

The overall purpose of the job is:
Provision of an archives service for both staff and visitors to the NHM

The main duties of the post are:
Management of the Museum Archives Collection
Administration of the modern records programme
Curation of items added to the collection
Provision of information to staff and visitors

Archives records are maintained using Idealist software

The successful candidate will receive support from the Head of Collections
and Reader Services, the five senior subject librarians and a research
worker who is familiar with all the archive systems.

We are looking for an experienced archivist, who can manage a busy service,
is a self-starter, has empathy with the needs of users, can communicate
effectively with a wide range of people and can work to a high professional
standard.

Interested candidates are requested to send me their CV by the 10 December.
 To discuss the post further ring Christopher Mills, Head of Collections
and Reader Services, on 0171 938 9306.

I would be grateful if you would pass details of this post to anyone you
think might be interested who does not have access to this list.
Christopher Mills
Head of Collections and Reader Services
The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD
Tel. 0171 938 9306
Fax. 0171 938 9290
Email: [log in to unmask]
URL: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/


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