Alexandria is a historic city located in northern Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C.  Distinct neighborhoods including Old Town, Del Ray and the West End offer something for everyone.  Headquarters to several prominent organizations, including the Patent and Trademark Office and the National Science Foundation, our city of nearly 150,000 residents is a diverse community—a distinctly urban area that retains a small town atmosphere.

Alexandria Library is an Equal Opportunity Employer and invites applications from all qualified individuals. Proficiency/fluency in Amharic, Arabic or Spanish is highly desired, but not required for these positions. These positions require the successful completion of pre-employment background checks, including a criminal background screening.

Thank you for your interest in employment opportunities at Alexandria Library!

CURRENT OPPORTUNITIES

Custodian

Part-Time/15 Hours a Week - Multiple Locations

A Custodian performs routine manual tasks involving the custodial care and cleaning of public buildings. This work includes performing cleaning and minor maintenance tasks in an assigned building or building area. Primary responsibilities are to use proper methods, materials and equipment in cleaning and attending to the neatness and sanitation of buildings and/or equipment. An employee in this class works under close supervision, and activities follow a well established routine.

Duties include:

Sweeps, mops, scrubs floors and spot cleans all common areas; dusts and cleans offices; washes windows, walls, and mirrors; cleans, sanitizes and deodorizes restrooms and replenishes supplies; helps move office and building furniture and equipment, and prepares rooms for meetings; empties waste cans and ash cans; recycles bottles, cans, white paper, newspapers; maintains a variety of cleaning equipment; reports building problems; maintains immediate outdoor areas by picking up trash, weeding, and watering plants. Other duties as assigned.

Skills and Abilities:

Knowledge of cleaning methods, materials, and equipment; ability to exercise care in the use of cleaning materials for different types of surfaces; ability to follow simple oral and written instructions; ability to work safely without hazard to self and/ or others; and sufficient physical strength to withstand the strain of working long hours performing cleaning work ---reaching, bending, stooping, and carrying.  Some experience in janitorial or related custodial work; or any equivalent combination of experience and training which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities is preferred.  Applicant needs to be hardworking, able to work independently, reliable, and must show initiative. 

Minimum requirements:

Ability to follow simple oral and written instructions in English.  Must be able to lift 20-50 lbs on a regular basis without help and carry custodial materials, office supplies, furniture, tools, and other materials in a safe and secure manner. Must have a valid local driver's license and be insurable by the Alexandria Library’s insurance company. Must own or have regular access to an automobile, and must be able to travel to different locations - when needed.  Employees will be reimbursed .58 cents per mile driven for work-related purposes. 

Salary:  

$15.15 an Hour

This position is not eligible for benefits.

Schedule:
The custodian will be assigned to either Burke, Barrett, or the Duncan Branch Library on Monday through Thursday hours between 5pm-8pm, 15 hours per week.  This position will also include one Saturday every other week.

Application Instructions: 

Click here to apply  attaching one document containing a cover letter, resume and three (3) professional references, preferably supervisory.  Address Cover Letter to Ross Farley, Human Resources Manager, Beatley Central Library, 5005 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA  22304.  Contact with questions:  703-746-1701, or careers@alexlibraryva.org. 

Open until filled.  Online applications encouraged. 

Digital Preservation Assistant

The Alexandria Library is seeking multiple seasonal workers for temporary Digital Preservation Assistant positions. These positions will assist staff with various aspects of work related to rare books, archives, and special collections. The worker may focus on assisting with either the public-facing or technical responsibilities of an assistant in the Local History/Special Collections Branch.

 asks may include assisting with processing, describing, rehousing, and scanning archival resources. This position may assist the general public and historical community in locating appropriate source materials for their research needs, as well as assisting with updating descriptive tools, transcription projects, or research tasks needed for either reference or descriptive needs. Additional assignments may include helping with virtual public programming, assisting with designing an online exhibit, or attending relevant training. Work is performed under the general supervision of the Branch Manager for Local History and Special Collections. This position will have a combination of virtual and onsite tasks depending on the needs of Alexandria Library.

Illustrative Examples of Work:

• Assist with scanning and metadata capture for collections being placed online;
• Shadow on Reference Services, including tasks related to ILL requests;
• Assist with creating guides and entering guides into ArchivesSpace;
• Draft subject terms or keywords and enter approved terms and keywords for digital surrogates placed in the DAMS;
• Operate library technology including computers, printers, photocopiers, and microfilm readers;
• Assist with research for biographical and organizational histories;
• Assist with locating related collections at other repositories and include links within guides.
• Assist with transcription projects;
• Assist with building representative collections of LH/SC rare books on sites such as Hathi Trust;
• Assist with creating online subject guides;
• Photocopying materials for local researchers;
• Assist with processing archival collections;
• Performs related work as required.

Qualifications

Ideal candidates will be enrolled in or have completed a graduate degree program in Library & Information Science, Public History, Museum Studies or an undergraduate degree in Library & Information Science or History. 

These positions are open to all qualified applicants. However, the positions were created to offer opportunities for undergraduate and graduate-level students interested in the archival profession. The goal is to provide hands-on work experience in assisting with processing, reference, digitization, exhibit planning, and other archival work.  

All seasonal workers will also need to complete a successful reference and background check.

Additional qualifications for seasonal workers include:

• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Outstanding customer service skills
• Ability to work independently and with a team
• Ability to balance multiple tasks within a limited time frame
• Organized and detail oriented
• Dependable and punctual
• Basic computer skills
• Interest in Virginia history, Colonial history, and /or community history
• A basic understanding of various descriptive standards, as well as an awareness of collection and digital asset management software, such as ArchiveSpace, is preferred.

Rate of Pay: $17.13

Hours of Work: 15 hours a week

Duration of the Assignment: These positions are scheduled to last 6 months, but may be extended to last no more than 1 year depending on project timelines.There is no guarantee that selected individuals will be hired for future employment.

Location: Local History/Special Collections

Application Instructions:

Click here to apply attaching one document containing a cover letter, resume and three (3) professional references, preferably supervisory. Address Cover Letter to Ross Farley, HR Manager, 5005 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA  22304. Contact with questions: 703-746-1799, or careers@alexlibraryva.org.