Program Associate Jobs in Kansas

Position Overview

The Cataloging & Archival Processing Department of the University of Kansas Libraries is responsible for the cataloging and processing of all resources for the Libraries, including print and electronic monographs, print and electronic serials, maps, multimedia, government documents and archival/manuscript materials. In addition, the Department is heavily involved in the inventory of books and the updating of records associated with materials being moved to the Library Annex. The Department consists of 28 FTE staff members in a variety of classifications along with student assistants and has offices in both Watson and Kenneth Spencer Research Libraries.

Reporting to the Archives & Manuscripts Coordinator, this full-time position is in the Processing Department at the Kenneth Spencer Research Library (KSRL). KSRL houses KU’s distinctive collections which includes rare books and archival material acquired across four collecting areas: Kansas Collection, Special Collections, University Archives and the Wilcox Collection. Following national standards and local policies, this position primarily physically processes complex manuscript collections, born-digital records, and photographic collections. This involves surveying and inventorying collection material, managing processing plans and internal documentation, and doing extensive research both within and outside the collections to generate multilevel descriptions in ArchivesSpace. This position will also assist with cleaning up and enhancing more challenging legacy metadata/EADs and contribute to training materials and processing manuals.

KU’s excellence is a result of the rich tapestry of experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds of our faculty, staff, students, and colleagues from across our nation and the globe. At KU, we invest in continuous learning and growth by creating a climate where people engage in respectful dialogue and debate and support each other’s success. We foster a culture of care where each person is seen, heard and valued. When people feel a true sense of belonging, we believe they are better able to reach their full potential and achieve remarkable things.

Job Description

70% - Manuscripts Processing:

This position primarily handles more complex and/or larger archival and manuscript collections. Collections may require specialized technical expertise, including processing foreign language materials, an ability to read older forms of English, or working with special formats such as born-digital materials. Key responsibilities include:

• Surveys, arranges, and rehouses original primary source materials as assigned by supervisor. This work ranges from minimally processing collections through detailed and complex processing of archival and manuscript collections, following national best practices and locally developed procedures specific to KSRL’s levels of processing.
• Describes collections using national and local best practices, including Describing Archives: A Contents Standard (DACS) and relevant metadata standards, in the collections management tool, ArchivesSpace, to generate online, publicly available finding aids.
• Conducts research online as well as within collection materials and other readily available resources to write biographical and historical notes and other contextual information for finding aids.
• Creates finding aids for undescribed or under-described legacy collections in an online environment.
• Consults with conservation and curatorial staff as appropriate.
• Suggests subject headings and identifies relevant agents to be associated with finding aids and catalog records.
• Creates agent records in ArchivesSpace following national and local metadata standards.

15% - Special Projects:

Assists with one or more special projects within the Department. Special projects may be long-term or short-term depending on departmental and library priorities at any given time. Also included here are activities that occur on an infrequent basis. This position currently works on the following projects:

• Creates finding aids for undescribed or under-described large legacy collections requiring extensive organization and research to process.
• Cleans up standard and complex legacy metadata/EAD finding aids to facilitate better access to manuscript collections housed at KSRL.
• Serves as a resource to other processors particularly when Archives & Manuscripts Coordinator is not available.
• Participates in departmental and cross-unit projects to clean-up and enhance the metadata of digitized collections.

10% - Project Management:

This work requires in-depth knowledge of local and national standards, exceptional organizational skills, and the ability to improve and/or re-engineer practices from previous projects to streamline workflows for optimal efficiency:

• Monitors and adjusts workflows for complex collection processing projects.
• Frequently resolves and/or proposes solutions to archival processing problems.
• Keeps supervisor and team members informed of progress for each project.
• Maintains internal documentation about processing and preservation decisions to collection materials.

5% - Teamwork and Professional Development:

Attends and participates in Libraries, Department and Unit meetings along with other team building activities. Engages in ongoing professional development related to the position and commits to positive, solution-oriented problem solving.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and three years of library or related experience OR high school diploma and five years of library or related experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in library science, public history, museum science or related field.
• At least one year’s experience working in an archival setting (this may include paid and unpaid internships).
• Demonstrated knowledge of DACS, EAD, and other descriptive and metadata standards as evidenced by application materials and required by previous experience.
• Experience with ArchivesSpace and/or other collections management or database systems.
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills with an ability to organize and summarize pertinent information as evidenced by application materials and required by previous experience.
• Reading knowledge of a Western European language as evidenced by application materials.
• Experience in project management.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, attention to detail and an ability to work successfully with detailed and complex procedures as evidenced by application materials and required by previous experience.
• Demonstrated initiative, an ability to organize work effectively, and to be successful in a production-oriented work environment as evidenced by application materials and required by previous experience.

Additional Candidate Instructions

In addition to the online application, the following documents are required to be considered for this position:

• A cover letter addressing how required and preferred qualifications are met.
• Resume or curriculum vitae.
• Contact information for three (3) professional references (including at least one previous or current supervisor).

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Application review begins Monday, June 29, and will continue until a qualified pool of applicants is identified.

Contact Information to Applicants

Tonia Morgan - morgt@ku.edu

Advertised Salary Range

Starts at $40,000

Application Review Begins

Monday June 29, 2026

Anticipated Start Date

Monday July 27, 2026

Posting Information

• Posting ID: 33086BR
• Department: Libraries-General
• Primary Campus: University of Kansas Lawrence Campus
• Assignment: On-Site
• Reg/Temp: Regular
• Employee Class: U-Unclassified Professional Staff
• Review Begins: 29-Jun-2026