https://young-canada-works.canada.ca/Opportunity/PublicApprovedOpportunities

Conservator (Intern, Friends of the Richmond Archives, Richmond, BC  

Location: Richmond, British Columbia
Compensation: $26.00/hr

The Friends of the Richmond Archives is pleased to offer one (1) Young Canada Works Building Careers in Heritage Internship in conservation at the City of Richmond Archives.

Based in Richmond, British Columbia, this is an exciting opportunity for a creative, professional, positive and organized individual to work in an established municipal archives. The City of Richmond Archives holds over 1 kilometre of textual records, 170,000 photographs, 20,000 maps and plans, and over 500 sound and moving image recordings. In addition, the Archives maintains a small reference library and collections of subject and biographical reference files.

Social Media    https://www.facebook.com/FriendsofTheRichmondArchives/

Description and Duties    

Project Summary:

The Conservator (Intern) will work on the following projects:

(1) Hong Wo General Store - Cleaning Mould-Contaminated Ledgers.

The primary task the Intern will work on relates to the Hong Wo General Store, and associated business Richmond Gardens Company, which was owed and operated by Chung Ling Lam. The Hong Wo Store holds an important part in Richmond, British Columbia's history as this store tells the story of a Chinese Canadian family who operated their family store in Steveston from 1895 to 1971. Ling Lam named his business Hong Wo, meaning "Peace Together" or "Living in Harmony." The Store served the diverse customer base in Richmond (including: Indigenous hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speaking peoples as well as Chinese, Japanese, and European settlers).

The Richmond Archives has 2 metres of journals and ledgers which were salvaged from the store before it was demolished in 1977. The cleaning of the ledgers will be carried out under the supervision of the Archivist as well as a Conservator consultant who the Friends of the Richmond Archives will be hiring for a 3 day period.

The Conservator (Intern) will be responsible to safely clean the ledgers, participate in the description of them, digitize a sample for an online exhibit or social media posts, and document their conservation work which will then be showcased in a newsletter and exhibit at the City of Richmond.

(2) Review and update the Disaster Recovery Plan

The Intern will also be tasked with updating the City of Richmond Archives Disaster Recovery Plan. Last updated in 2019, the plan requires some revisions to ensure that the most current information is included in this important document.

(3) Review the 2005 Preservation Assessment Report

The Intern will review the 2005 Preservation Assessment Report written by a conservator for the City of Richmond Archives. After reviewing this report, the Intern will write an updated report that includes an assessment of where the City of Richmond Archives is with the 42 recommendations included in the report written 20 years ago.

Depending upon the status of the cleaning of the Hong Wo Store ledgers, and the associated assessment conducted by the Conservator Consultant, the following tasks may also be assigned to the Intern:

(4) Complete an inventory of all other records at the City of Richmond Archives that require treatment based on information in the accessions database;

(5) Safety treat any other records requiring conservation treatment (disbinding bylaws); and

(6) Safely clean any additional records contaminated with dormant mould.

The ideal candidate for the City of Richmond Archives Conservator (Intern) is either a recent graduate, or current student, of a conservation program with an archival conservation component. It will be considered an asset if the applicant is working towards a Master of Art Conservation degree.

Candidates who are pursuing post-graduate studies in archival studies are also encouraged to apply, especially if they have taken a preservation course.

Qualifications    

Skills Required:

• The ability to carefully and cautiously work with contaminated paper records following established health and safety procedures;
• The ability to handle fragile records with care and attention;
• Great attention to detail;
• Well-developed organizational and planning skills;
• Ability to work both independently and as a part of a team;
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with both staff and volunteers;
• Computer literacy and an aptitude to work with a variety of systems (InMagic CS/Textworks, Acrobat, MS Word, MS PowerPoint);
• Demonstrated experience working with primary and secondary sources; and
• Excellent writing skills.

Working Conditions:

Office environment with appropriate health and safety protocols for carrying out conservation treatments on archival paper-based records.

Qualifications Required:

• Graduate with a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science
• An interest in pursuing a career in Archives, Libraries, Art, or Museum & Heritage services, with an emphasis on conservation. This includes working towards or holds a Master of Art Conservation degree. Candidates working towards or holding a certificate, diploma or Masters in Archival Studies, Libraries, or Museum Studies will also be considered.
• Previous work or volunteer experience with archival records is an asset.
• The successful candidate must meet the YCW eligibility requirements.

How to Apply    

Please send Cover Letter and Resume to:

Dovelle Buie, Archivist, City of Richmond Archives

E-mail: dbuie@richmond.ca

This position will be open until May 19, 2025, or until filled. We will be actively reviewing applications and anticipate starting interviews the week of the May 20, 2025.

No phone inquiries, please. Only short-listed applicants will be notified.

The Friends of the Richmond Archives Society is an equal opportunity employer and encourages all individuals who meet the Job Posting and Young Canada Works Qualifications to apply.

Application Webpage (URL)    https://young-canada-works.canada.ca/Opportunity/PublicApprovedOpportunities

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Use of AI in Application Process: No