Reporting to the Curator of Harvard’s Plate Stacks collection, the Curatorial Assistant III will help maintain and edit catalog and image metadata that identifies the full collection of Harvard’s 500,000 astronomical glass plate negatives.   Photograph plate and jacket enclosure to preserve historically and scientifically relevant information. Clean plates using a semi-automated plate cleaning machine or manually with ethanol-distilled water cleaning solution with brushes. Operate the high-speed scanner. Re-file the plates as they exit the digitization process, determining status of plate and integrity of jacket enclosure.

Work with Plate Stacks Curator and the Principal Investigator of the Digital Access to a Sky Century @ Harvard (DASCH) project to plan and carry out the full-time tasks required for plate selection, photography, cleaning and scanning to enable production processing for DASCH Work with the DASCH software engineer to locate plates that represent regions to digitize selected by the DASCH Principal   Investigator.   Oversee the transcriptions of Plate Stack’s record books and assign specific data records to be digitized by our several off-site volunteer groups.   Collect digitized transcriptions and run software checks for errors; work with software engineer to correct software-detected errors to complete the DASCH online metadata database.

With Plate Stacks Curator, will consult with conservators from the Weissman Preservation Center to ensure best practices for digitization and plate preservation. Work with collaborators to ensure appropriate use of methods for transcribing data from telescope logbooks. Train new staff and students in the DASCH plate processing steps.

College background in astronomy, astrophysics, museum studies, preservation, conservation, or archival studies required. Manual dexterity and attention to visual detail are essential.

Degree in astronomy, museum studies, preservation, conservation, or archival studies preferred. Experience working as part of a team preferred.   Ability to carefully read and follow manuals is needed. Some knowledge of SLR photography is a plus. Basic familiarity and skills with Excel and MSWord required; familiarity with Photoshop preferred. Enthusiasm and endurance to complete daily objectives in order to ensure efficient and productive digitization desired. Attention to detail but with ability to work efficiently and fast is important. Ability to work with mechanical systems is a plus.

When applying for this position please submit your resume and cover letter in our preferred format as one combined document (resume follwed by cover letter).

All formal writen offers will be made by FAS HR.

The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics is a research facility which combines the resources of the Harvard College Observatory (HCO) and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. HCO’s astronomical plate collection is the largest, oldest and most extensive collection of astronomical photographic data in the world. Our telescopes patrolled both hemispheres of the sky for 100 years and the resulting photographic record continues to be an important resource in measuring changes in astronomical objects over time. HCO’s DASCH project for the full digitization of the collection will offer modern scientists image data and analysis software so that they may integrate a 100 year time domain into current astronomical observations and studies of Time Domain Astronomy.