Overview
The Archivist appointed to Offaly County Council will be responsible for the proper management, custody, care and conservation of local records and local archives for the county. The role includes implementing structures to deliver proper management of Offaly County Council’s archives in line with the Local Government Acts of 1994, 2001 and 2011 and the archive collection of Offaly Historical Society. Offaly Historical Society planned, funded and built the bespoke Offaly Archives building in Axis Business Park (opened November 2021). It is a 475m2 facility housing two archive storerooms (one for Offaly County Council’s collection and one for Offaly History Society’s collection), an Archivist’s Office, a Reading Room, a Delivery and Accessioning Room and a Cataloguing and Digitising Office. The operation of this jointly managed repository is set out and delivered as per the Service Level Agreement between Offaly History and Offaly County Council. A virtual tour of Offaly Archives is available here.
Responsibilities
Oversee the drafting of and implementation of a five-year Archives Plan for the County Archive Service.
Manage the Offaly Historical Society and Offaly County Council’s extensive historical records for each Council Department and be responsible for the conservation of records and archives that are over 30 years old.
Promote best practice in the storage of physical archives and streamline storage requirements through a programme of digitisation as deemed appropriate.
Use the AtoM online cataloguing programme and liaise with Offaly History and relevant Offaly County Council departments on equipment, digital resources and ICT policies and procedures as necessary.
Guide Offaly County Council’s Corporate Services Department to implement the National Retention Policy for Local Authority records and oversee cataloguing, managing, storage, preservation and conservation of the archives of Offaly County Council.
Be a member of County Offaly’s Heritage Forum and work closely with the Heritage Team and Offaly Library Service Team in Offaly County Council; collaborate with the library service and Local Studies department.
Report directly to the Heritage Officer or any other senior officer as designated by the Chief Executive of Offaly County Council.
Be located in the Heritage Team under the Planning Directorate and work in partnership with Offaly County Council's many departments.
Actively promote archives to the public through presentations, talks with historical societies, donor engagement, exhibitions and use of social media channels.
Devise and manage an outreach education programme for County Council staff and potentially develop initiatives with primary, secondary and third-level students.
Manage all catalogues, databases and electronic platforms including www.offalyarchives.com.
Manage a budget and the County Archive building at Axis Business Park.
Make archives held at Offaly Archives available for public inspection as appropriate.
Further Information
Further information can be found in the Candidate Booklet.
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