Association of Canadian Archivists Job Opportunities

Librarian, Project Archivist (Indian Residential Schools Records Project) | Toronto Metropolitan University |Toronto ON | Deadline August 28, 2026

Fri, 07 Aug 2026 14:42:09 GMT

Organization Name: Toronto Metropolitan University

Location: Toronto, Ontario

Compensation: $70,448 - $112,535

Organization Homepage (URL): https://library.torontomu.ca/#

About the Organization: For more than 75 years, Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly known as Ryerson University) has been shaping the next generation of leaders through its uniquely innovative, entrepreneurial and career-focused approach to higher education. Driven by bold leadership, cutting-edge research and a deep commitment to academic excellence, TMU collaborates with students, faculties, staff and partners to push boundaries, reimagine solutions and create meaningful change in an increasingly interconnected world. For a more in-depth understanding of our vision, core values and ongoing work, please see our academic plan

TMU welcomes those who have demonstrated a commitment to upholding the values of equity, diversity, and inclusion and will assist us in realizing the benefits of embedding these values into the work at every level and in every unit of the university. In addition, to correct the conditions of disadvantage in employment in Canada and to bring lived experiences to the work, we encourage applications from members of equity deserving groups that have been historically disadvantaged and marginalized, including First Nations, Métis and Inuit Peoples in Canada, First Nations Peoples in the United States, racialized people, Black people, persons with disabilities, women, and 2SLGBTQ+ people.

Social Media: N/A

Description and Duties:The Librarian, Project Archivist position offers an exciting opportunity for a future-focused, progressive, and community-oriented professional. Reporting to the Head, Collection Services and to the Archivist as functional supervisor within the Archives and Special Collections (A&SC) team, the incumbent will be a part of the Indian Residential Schools Records Project team. The Project team will be led by Connie Walker in the School of Journalism, and will include Kimberly Murray (Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, Queen’s University) and the Yellowhead Institute at TMU. The project aims to protect Survivor truths and to promote justice and accountability.

An estimated 20,000 statements of claim were filed in courts across the country by Survivors in relation to the harms inflicted on them in Indian Residential Schools. These lawsuits led to the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement of 2006 which predated the Independent Assessment Process (IAP). The archivist would contribute to the development of culturally appropriate protocols for the archiving of these public documents in ways that support Indigenous Knowledge Keepers and Survivors in making decisions regarding the stewardship of their records.

This project will also advocate for the preservation of the Independent Assessment Process (IAP) records facing imminent destruction. Roughly 38,000 testimonies of experiences at Indian Residential Schools, collected between 2006-2012, are set to be destroyed by September 19, 2027 by order of the Supreme Court of Canada.

The Librarian, Project Archivist will advise on project priorities and protocols to develop a framework for a new archive of Survivor accounts—primarily from lawsuits, court filings, and testimonies—while executing core archival functions, including data management, archival description, and digital preservation. This role utilizes principles of community-led archival practices, Indigenous data sovereignty, ethical stewardship, reciprocal knowledge exchange, and accountable care and respect for the communities involved. Requiring technical expertise and the ability to build collaborative relationships with faculty, students, and researchers, the role may also involve travelling to Indigenous communities to collaborate with community researchers, Survivors, and knowledge keepers.

Responsibilities

Strategic Direction and Community Engagement

Policy and Ethical Governance: Develops core policies, procedures, and ethical frameworks in collaboration with leadership to guide the acquisition and stewardship of records.

Community Relations: Maintains and supports strong, collaborative relationships with participating Indigenous communities and stakeholders to define collecting scopes and communicate strategies.

Sustainability Planning: Collaborates with the Archivist, faculty, and staff on long-term planning initiatives to ensure enduring project sustainability.

Team Supervision: Trains, supervises, and mentors student research assistants, interns, and contract staff.

Advisory and Consultation: Navigates and advises project members on complex privacy issues, ethical considerations, and collection workflows.

Archival Stewardship and Technical Operations

Collection Management: Oversees the appraisal, preservation, arrangement, and description of materials, creating metadata, indexes, and finding aids to facilitate easy retrieval.

System and Technology Strategy: Leads the implementation of archives and information systems, managing digitization workflows, digital asset management, and web archiving.

Digital Preservation: Establishes digital preservation workflows, including fixity checks and storage monitoring, to ensure the long-term integrity of born-digital and digitized materials.

Physical Preservation: Implements measures to protect physical records from deterioration, damage, or loss through climate control and proper storage techniques.

Access and Compliance: Identifies access, privacy, and copyright restrictions while assisting students, researchers, communities, and the public in accessing archival materials.

Public Programming: Plans and delivers presentations and public programs regarding access, copyright, privacy, and digital preservation.

Qualifications: The successful candidate shall hold a Master of Information (with a concentration in archives and records management), Master of Archival Studies (MAS), or an equivalent degree from an ALA-accredited program.

Experience with working within diverse populations of faculty, staff, student, community members, and other constituencies.

Experience working with community engagement and outreach in a library or archival setting.

Two (2) years of relevant experience as an information professional.

Familiarity with current archival practices and emerging concepts, including understanding of the principles of post-custodial archival stewardship.

Knowledge and commitment to decolonization, Indigenous data sovereignty, anti-racist archival theory and description, and the First Nations principles of ownership, control, access, and possession – more commonly known as OCAP®.

Knowledge and commitment to the United Nations Principles for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights through action to combat impunity (also known as the Joinet

Orentlicher Principles) around Survivors, families, and communities’ right to know the truth

Understanding of Indigenous ways of knowing within a higher education setting.

Dedicated to cultivating an inclusive environment that recognizes barriers faced by people and encourages and incorporates contributions from diverse groups and individuals.

Demonstrated experience developing and implementing workflows and procedures supporting transfer, arrangement, description, and preservation of digital material, and communicating these workflows effectively to colleagues.

Respect, professionalism, and willingness to engage in collegial decision making thorough utilization of existing councils and governing bodies within the institution.

Excellent problem-solving and time-management skills and ability to operate effectively while balancing competing priorities.

Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.

How to Apply: To learn more about this position and apply visit:

https://careers.torontomu.ca/psc/hrcgprd/EMPLOYEE/HRMS/c/HRS_HRAM_FL.HRS_CG_SEARCH_FL.GBL?Page=HRS_APP_JBPST_FL&Action=U&FOCUS=Applicant&SiteId=1&JobOpeningId=397375&PostingSeq=1

Application Deadline: August 28, 2026

Use of AI: No

Job Poster: Tanis Franco

Job Poster Email: tanis.franco@torontomu.ca

Assistant Archivist (Archivist I) | Prince Rupert City & Regional Archives | Prince Rupert, BC | Deadline: August 20, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 17:38:45 GMT

Organization Name: Prince Rupert City & Regional Archives

Location: Prince Rupert, British Columbia

Compensation: $30.00 - $33.00 per hour/35 hours per week

Organization Homepage (URL): https://princerupertarchives.ca/

About the Organization: Established in 1980 and incorporated as a non-profit society in 1984, the Prince Rupert City & Regional Archives acquires, preserves, describes, and provides access to records documenting the history and development of Prince Rupert and the surrounding North Coast.

Our holdings include photographs, textual records, maps and architectural plans, audiovisual materials, newspapers, publications, and community records. These collections document the people, organizations, industries, cultures, and events that have shaped the region.

The Archives serves community members, researchers, students, educators, government agencies, heritage organizations, and members of the public through reference services, research assistance, exhibitions, educational programming, and access to archival collections.

Social Media: N/A

Description and Duties: The Prince Rupert City & Regional Archives is seeking an organized, collaborative, and service-oriented professional to join its team as Assistant Archivist (Archivist I).

Reporting to and working directly under the Head Archivist, the Assistant Archivist supports the professional and day-to-day operations of the Archives. The position will have a strong focus on processing archival collections, including accessioning, arrangement, description, physical rehousing, location control, and the preparation of finding aids and other descriptive tools.

The successful candidate will work with collections that include both newly acquired and previously unprocessed archival materials. They will help address the Archives’ processing backlog while improving the physical and intellectual control, discoverability, preservation, and accessibility of its holdings.

The Assistant Archivist will also contribute to reference services, digitization, collections maintenance, donor communications, public programming, and other operational priorities assigned by the Head Archivist.

Primary Responsibilities:

Archival Processing, Arrangement and Description

• Process archival accessions and previously unprocessed collections under the direction of the Head Archivist.

• Survey collections and develop appropriate processing plans.

• Arrange records according to provenance, original order, archival hierarchy, and established professional practice.

• Prepare fonds-, series-, file-, and item-level descriptions, as appropriate.

• Apply the Canadian Rules for Archival Description (RAD) and the Archives’ internal descriptive policies.

• Create, edit, and maintain inventories, finding aids, authority records, accession records, and other descriptive documentation.

• Conduct historical and administrative research necessary to establish the context of records and their creators.

• Enter and update descriptive information in the Archives’ collections-management systems.

• Record and maintain accurate shelving, container, and storage-location information.

• Prepare descriptions and research tools for use by staff, researchers, and the general public.

Collections Management and Preservation

• Accession incoming donations and transfers and assist with maintaining accession documentation.

• Support the preparation and administration of deeds of gift, transfer forms, temporary custody forms, and related documentation.

• Rehouse archival materials using appropriate enclosures and storage supplies.

• Undertake physical processing activities such as foldering, boxing, labelling, numbering, and shelf arrangement.

• Identify basic preservation concerns and refer significant issues to the Head Archivist.

• Carry out appropriate preventive-preservation activities, including surface cleaning and the removal of damaging fasteners or enclosures.

• Assist with environmental monitoring, collections inspections, storage planning, and emergency-preparedness activities.

• Prepare, pack, receive, and relocate archival materials between workspaces and storage areas.

• Help maintain orderly, secure, and accurate storage environments.

Reference and Public Services

• Respond to routine reference inquiries received in person, by telephone, and by email.

• Assist researchers in identifying and accessing relevant archival and published materials.

• Supervise use of materials in the reading room and help ensure compliance with handling and access procedures.

• Assist with researcher registration, request tracking, reproduction orders, and reference statistics.

• Conduct research using archival collections, newspapers, directories, databases, and other local-history resources.

• Apply established restrictions and procedures relating to privacy, copyright, donor agreements, and access.

• Prepare digital reproductions, photocopies, citations, and permissions documentation when required.

Digitization and Information Management

• Digitize photographs, documents, and other archival materials according to established standards and procedures.

• Perform quality control and create appropriate filenames, folder structures, and metadata.

• Assist with the management of digitized and born-digital records.

• Assist with the maintenance and development of the Archives’ website, including updating content, organizing digital resources, improving website navigation and information architecture, and supporting online exhibits and collection-access tools.

• Support data cleanup, database maintenance, digital-storage organization, and migration projects.

• Contribute to the development and improvement of digital-preservation and digitization workflows.

• Work with archival databases and collections-management systems such as DB/TextWorks, and ArchivEra, or comparable systems.

Outreach and Organizational Support

• Assist with exhibitions, displays, presentations, workshops, educational activities, tours, and community events, and assist with maintaining accurate, accessible, and well-organized online content.

• Prepare archival information for newsletters, social media, the Archives’ website, and other public communications.

• Support collaborative projects with community groups, cultural organizations, libraries, museums, government offices, and educational institutions.

• Assist with oral-history, documentation, and community-archiving initiatives when assigned.

• Provide guidance to volunteers, students, interns, or temporary staff working on delegated archival projects.

• Participate in staff meetings, project planning, professional development, and the review of archival policies and procedures.

• Undertake other related archival, research, administrative, and operational duties assigned by the Head Archivist.

Qualifications: Required Qualifications:

• A master’s degree in library and information science, archival studies, library and information science, information studies, records management, public history, or a closely related discipline, with substantial education or training in archives; or an equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience.

• Demonstrated knowledge of archival principles and practices, including accessioning, appraisal, arrangement, description, preservation, and access.

• Experience arranging and describing archival materials.

• Working knowledge of the Canadian Rules for Archival Description.

• Experience preparing finding aids, inventories, catalogue records, or other descriptive tools.

• Experience safely handling and physically processing archival materials.

• Strong research, writing, editing, and organizational skills.

• Excellent attention to detail and the ability to produce consistently accurate work.

• Ability to manage multiple assignments, establish priorities, and work effectively with limited supervision.

• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work collaboratively with staff, volunteers, donors, researchers, and members of the public.

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office or comparable workplace applications.

• Ability to communicate clearly and professionally in person and in writing.

Assets:

• One to three years of professional or paraprofessional experience in an archives, library, museum, cultural centre, records office, or other heritage organization.

• Experience gained through an archival or library practicum, internship, co-op placement, or substantial volunteer appointment.

• Experience working with photographs, audiovisual records, maps, architectural plans, oral histories, newspapers, or born-digital records.

• Familiarity with archival collections-management systems such as DB/TextWorks, AtoM, ArchivesSpace, ArchivEra, or similar platforms.

• Knowledge of metadata standards, controlled vocabularies, authority control, and digital-preservation practices.

• Familiarity with Canadian copyright, privacy, freedom-of-information, and access-to-information requirements.

• Experience providing reference services or working directly with researchers and the public.

• Experience with digitization equipment, image-editing software, and digital quality-control procedures.

• Knowledge of British Columbia, Prince Rupert, or North Coast history.

• Experience contributing to exhibitions, educational programming, community outreach, or grant-funded projects.

• Knowledge of or experience with website design and maintenance, content management systems, website information architecture, web accessibility, user experience, or basic web technologies is considered an asset.

Application Webpage: https://princerupertarchives.ca/

How to Apply: Applicants are invited to submit a cover letter describing their interest in the position and explaining how their education and experience meet the qualifications, along with a current curriculum vitae and contact information for three professional references.

Applications should be emailed to:

Brandon Carkner, Head Archivist

bcarkner@princerupertarchives.ca

Please use the subject line:

Application – Assistant Archivist (Archivist I)

Application Deadline: August 20, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time

Additional Information: Recent graduates with strong archival coursework and meaningful practicum or processing experience are encouraged to apply.

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements

This is an on-site position involving regular work in offices, and archival storage spaces.

The position requires the ability to:

• Work at a computer for extended periods.

• Handle fragile, oversized, or stored materials using appropriate protective procedures.

• Retrieve and return archival containers from shelving.

• Use step stools or ladders safely.

• Regularly lift and carry archival boxes weighing up to approximately 40 pounds.

• Move heavier or oversized materials with assistance or appropriate equipment.

The position includes:

• Three weeks of paid vacation annually.

• Two weeks of paid sick leave annually.

• Opportunities for professional learning and participation in archival projects, exhibitions, and community partnerships.

• Eligibility for participation in the Municipal Pension Plan.

Any offer of employment will be conditional upon satisfactory professional references and the successful completion of all required employment screening, including a Police Records Check/Vulnerable Sector Screening.

This is an on-site position based in Prince Rupert, British Columbia. The Archives welcomes applications from qualified candidates throughout Canada. The anticipated start date will be discussed with the successful candidate, and reasonable scheduling flexibility will be provided where relocation is required.

Equity and Accessibility

The Prince Rupert City & Regional Archives is committed to an inclusive and respectful workplace. We welcome applications from qualified candidates with diverse backgrounds, identities, experiences, and perspectives.

Applicants requiring accommodation during any stage of the recruitment process are invited to identify their needs when contacted. Information relating to accommodation will be treated confidentially.

Use of AI: No

Job Poster: Brandon Carkner

Job Poster Email: bcarkner@princerupertarchives.ca