NYS Education Department's Office of Cultural Education seeks an Archives Conservation Specalist 1 (deadline 5 November)

I usually don't post non-electronic records jobs, but this one's kind of special: the New York State Education Department's Office of Cultural Education oversees the State Archives, the State Library, the State Museum, and the State Office of Educational Television and Public Broadcasting.

If you're an experienced paper conservator who likes working with amazing collections and cool colleagues and who lives or would like to live in the historic Hudson Valley, the New York State Education Department's Office of Cultural Education would to hear from you:

The State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education (OCE) is seeking to fill an Archives Conservation Specialist (ACS) 1 position.  Under the direction of an ACS 3, the incumbent will perform conservation/preservation activities for paper-based collections in the Office of Cultural Education.   Collections encompass, but are not limited to, archival holdings, manuscripts, prints, drawings, and maps.  Abiding by the American Institute for Conservation Code of Ethics and Guidelines for Practice, duties will include, but not be limited to, the following: 

• Examine, treat, document, and house high priority paper based collections and prepare the collections for exhibition;
• Participate in collections stewardship activities and teams,  including: environmental monitoring programs, including operation of dataloggers, reporting of data, and collaboration with facilities managers and building engineers to improve conditions; emergency planning and response, including staff training, maintenance of supplies, protection of collections from hazards, immediate response to disasters, and evaluation and treatment of damaged collections; stacks and storage maintenance and housekeeping; preservation assessment of collections and recommending preventive and remedial preservation action and maintaining documentation of preservation needs and actions; planning and supervising rehousing and processing activities for selected paper based   collections; preparation of selected paper based collections for reformatting initiatives;
• Deliver presentations and demonstrations illustrating conservation principles, techniques and results;
• Provide preservation and conservation advice to government customers and the public;
• Provide advice, assistance, and training to staff as needed and participate in disaster response outreach activities;
• Participate in OCE lab management activities, including maintaining inventory of supplies, and maintenance and use of OCE equipment; an
• Supervise Historic Conservation Technician, interns, and support staff, as assigned.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: For provisional appointment, candidates must have a Master’s degree in paper conservation, OR a Bachelor’s degree and two years of experience as a conservation technician with duties including one or more of the following: assisting conservator with conservation lab treatments, such as washing, lining and deacidification; independently carrying out conservation lab treatments, such as dry cleaning, mending, or fabrication of custom storage containers; monitoring and recording environmental conditions; overseeing technical components of micrographics or imaging operations; or assisting conservator with preservation training activities.

The starting salary for this position is $41,170 (in accordance with a collective bargaining agreement, this figure is not negotiable). Within approximately seven years, annual performance increases will bring the successful candidate's salary up to a maximum of $52,552. The State of New York offers a comprehensive package of benefits.

As noted above, the deadline for applying for this position is 5 November 2013. For more information and detailed application instructions, consult the position description.

New York in Bloom wrap-up

New York in Bloom, the annual fundraiser for the New York State Museum's after-school programs, ended yesterday afternoon. All of the arrangements were dismantled yesterday evening, and State Museum staffers and the Cultural Education Center's security and building operations staff worked feverishly to prepare the State Museum for its reopening at 9:30 AM this morning. When I walked into the Cultural Education Center, which also houses the State Archives and the State Library, this morning, I didn't see a single trace of New York in Bloom.

I'm going to share a few more photographs of New York in Bloom 2012 before I get back to business as usual around here. I hope you've enjoyed getting the chance to look at the flowers -- a rare thing in New York in February -- and the exhibits that my colleagues at the State Museum have created.

The Bird Hall, which connects Metropolis Hall and Adirondack Hall, features select examples of the State Museum's vast collection of biological specimens. During New York in Bloom, the Bird Hall is home to what our Governor's significant other would call "tablescapes" -- arrangements of items that create vignettes.

The tablescape created by Douglas Fisher of Designs by Douglas features an appealingly simply arrangement of pear blossoms and spider mums.

Craig Waltz Jr. of Fleurlite Floral Designs created a lush tropical tables cape that features hala, phalaenopsis orchids, heliconia, eccheveria, roses, palm leaves, and ivy.

Here's a closeup of the arresting centerpiece.

Barbara Guyette, Charles Guyette, and Linda Savage of All the Right Ingredients created this Beatrix Potter-ish Easter tablescape, which features fleurette mums, roses, spray roses, statice, German statice, mini carnations, alstromeria, spider mums, leather leaf fern, cedar, and pine.

The Crossroads Gallery sits immediately to the south of Metropolis Hall and is used for small temporary exhibits. During New York in Bloom, it was home to Marking Time: Voyage to Vietnam, which featured graffiti drawn on the canvas bunks of the General Nelson M. Walker, a ship that was used to transport soldiers to Vietnam in 1967 and 1968. The voyage to Vietnam took several weeks, and bored, anxious, and seasick soldiers, most of whom were only 19 years old, found that drawing on the bunks was one way to pass the time. The bunks were rediscovered by chance in 1997, and when the ship was scrapped in 2005, the Vietnam Graffiti Project salvaged them and created this traveling exhibit, which until yesterday could be seen at the State Museum.

Christopher Grigas of Hidden Gardens used calla lilies, roses, spray roses, protea, and carnations to create an arrangement that looks like a watery reflection of the life preserver in the exhibit's graphics.

At least some of the men on the ship were from New York State.

An arrangement of roses, seeded eucalyptus, amaryllis, succulents, dubium stars, skimmer flowers, green trick dianthus, cymbidium, and parrot tulips complements life jackets taken from the General Nelson M. Walker. It was created by Marilyn Cederoth of Cedarfarm Wholesale.

I really like this arrangement, which was created by Karen Bucholsky of the Greenport Garden Club and consists of hypericum, agonies, thistle-eryngium, ranunculus, leucadendron, Oriental white lily, Irish, and pussy willow. It brings to mind sea grasses.

Until 31 March 2012, the Photography Gallery features Shadow and Substance: African-American Images from the Burns Archive, which features 113 images portraits, snapshots and photographs documenting industries, properties, and events related to African American history from the mid-19th century to the present day.

In past years, the Photography Gallery has been home to numerous New York in Bloom exhibits. This year, it was home to only one: this elegant composition of roses, mini carnations, galas leaves, and moss created by Michelle Peters of Ambiance Floral Design.

The Exhibition Hall is also home to a wide array of temporary exhibits. At present, it features From the Collections, an exhibit that highlights the State Museum's vast holdings of natural science, history, and anthropology artifacts. I enjoyed this exhibit even more than I initially thought I would, and I encourage you to see it if you find yourself in Albany before 30 April.

This arrangement is actually part of a cluster of arrangements of roses, hydrangeas, and pussy willow that Christine Colpoys of Seagroatt-Ricciardi created to complement the vintage automobile that sits at the exhibit's entrance. (Note the rearticulated mastodon skeleton in the background: Exhibition Hall sits next to a permanent Ancient Life in New York State exhibit.)

This eye-catching arrangement of king protea, wax flower, sago palm, and cactus bones is one of my favorites. It was created by Mary Aiko Bohnet of the Capital District Sogetsu Study Group.

Erin Brady's simple composition of quince, green trick, reindeer moss, and river rocks harmonizes perfectly with a display of Shaker furniture.

This arrangement is another favorite. Unfortunately, its label disappeared sometime before I made it to the Exhibition Hall. I recognize some of its components (monstera leaves, lilies, aspidistra) but not others. The coats on display, all of which either contained the fur of endangered species or otherwise violated federal wildlife protection laws, were seized at John F. Kennedy International Airport by U.S. Customs Officials in 1972. After their investigation ended, Customs officials gave the coats to the New York State Office of General Services (OGS), which, among many other things, oversees the disposition of surplus state government property. OGS then transferred them to the State Museum.

New York in Bloom, day three

Today was the last day of New York in Bloom, the New York State Museum's annual after-school program fundraiser. I wasn't able to spend as much time at the State Museum as I initially hoped -- life has a way of getting in the way -- but I did get to see all of the arrangements before they were taken down.

Today's post will focus on the Adirondack Hall, which is roughly equal in size to Metropolis Hall and is home to a number of permanent exhibits. I'm a little pressed for time this evening, so I'll create a separate post tomorrow to highlight some of the arrangements in the Bird Hall and temporary exhibit spaces.

The State Museum's western entrance features a huge relief map of New York State, and Margie Amodeo of Emil J. Nagengast Florist used tee pee, lemon leaf, Italian ruscus, bear grass, stock, Siberia lilies, and larkspur to create an arrangement that complements it perfectly.

Many of the exhibits in the Adirondack Hall focus on the region's natural resources. This logging display is enhanced by an arrangement of green hydrangea, white wax flower, pink heather, sweet William, fern, Norfolk Island pine, sheet moss, and branches created by Brian Schell of Bountiful Blooms Florist.

Part of a large Botanic Studio installation of bowls of succulents and bromeliads and glass terrariums housing a wide array of plants. This installation was a real crowd-pleaser; sadly, owing to the level of ambient light, I couldn't get a good picture of it in its entirety.

Audrey Hawkins of the Fort Orange Garden Club used hypericum berries, leucadendron "Safari Sunset," French heather, pincushion protea, solidago, alstromeria, and painted foliage to create a dramatic arrangement that complements the portable steam engine that sits at the outer boundaries of the logging exhibit.

Some of the arrangements in the logging section harmonize beautifully with the State Museum's permanent installations. Carl Derush of Maloney's Florist used birch branches, flowering almond branches, and lilies to bring verdant life to this large image of the Adirondack woodland.

Laurie Costello's arrangement of leucadendron, kermit buttons, yellow alstromeria, ferns, and dried mushrooms blends right into the bears' habitat.

Of course, not all of the arrangements recede into the background. Craig Waltz Jr. of Fleurlite Floral Design created a stunning composition of vandal orchids, anthurium, palm leaf, palmetto leaf, and lilies that brings to mind both Adirondack pines and Pacific island flora but certainly livens up an expanse of blank wall.

This sweet little arrangement, which consists of roses, lilies, pincushion protea, and bird of paradise, complements a small mining exhibit. It was created by Anthony Macarelli.

The Minerals of New York gallery is one of the most popular sections of the Adirondack Hall. This arrangement, which consists of lilies and some sort of grass, complements a specimen case beautifully -- and proves that one doesn't need tons of varied blooms to create an arresting composition. Unfortunately, the accompanying label vanished some time before I visited the gallery, and as a result cannot identify the creator.

The section of Adirondack Hall devoted to recreation features this arresting arrangement by Donald Bennett of White Cottage Gardens. It consists of roses, alstromeria, freesia, thistle, seeded eucalyptus, pine, and boxwood.

Immediately to the south of Adirondack Hall is a large gallery devoted to the native peoples of New York State. The mastodont in the exhibit devoted to the settlement of what is now New York approximately 12,000 years ago is a big hit with kids of all ages, and this arrangement by Pamela Nagengast of Emil J. Nagengast Florist was a big hit with me. It features French tulips, dendrobium orchids, calla lilies, lisianthus, snapdragons, larkspur, caspia, stock, foxtail, curly willow, flexigrass, Italian ruscus, and eucalyptus.

Janet Wierzchowski, Helen Lindstrom, and Marie Mueller of the Schoharie Valley Garden Club used chrysanthemum, daisies, solidago canadiensis, pussy willow, curly willow, fantail willow, Norwegian spruce, white pine, cornhusks, eucalyptus, and allium to create an arrangement that harmonizes beautifully with the Iroquois longhouse.

The Native Peoples of New York gallery features a wide array of contemporary Iroquois baskets, beadwork, and other crafts. This stunning arrangement by Terry Waltz of StoryTime Chinese consists of pussy willow, flax, and lily. It harmonizes perfectly with the works on display . . .

. . . and even features a Mohawk inscription spanning three of its leaves. Unfortunately, I don't know what it means; a scannable mobile code that directed cell phone users to an English translation was available, but for some reason I left my cell phone at home today. Any readers of Mohawk out there?

New York In Bloom 2011, part one

Phaelenopsis orchids, part of a display of specimens organized by the Northeastern New York Orchid Society.

New York in Bloom, the New York State Museum's annual fundraiser for its after-school programs, was held on 25-27 February 2011. Over 100 floral arrangements designed to complement the exhibits were installed throughout the galleries, a temporary flower shop was set up in the lobby, and flower arranging and other tutorials were held in the classrooms.

Posting New York in Bloom photos is a bit of a tradition on this blog, and in past years I've posted them on the day I took them. However, it just wasn't in the cards this year. I was on the road on the 25th and missed the opening day, staffed the State Archives public reference desk on the 26th and got to spend less than 30 minutes in the State Museum galleries, and felt compelled to post about the death of Frank Buckles and its significance yesterday. As a result, this year's going to be a little different: for the remainder of this week, I'm going to alternate posts about New York in Bloom and posts about electronic records -- lots of interesting stuff has come my way over the past few weeks, but I simply haven't had the chance to post about any of it.

All of the arrangements pictured below were set up in the New York State Museum's West Gallery and West Hall. They were taken down on Sunday, and New York in Bloom 2011 is now a memory. However, its evanescence is part of its charm . . . and within a few short weeks, New York truly will be in bloom.

Exhibits in the West Gallery change frequently. At the moment, it's home to Not Just Another Pretty Place: The Landscape of New York, which "explores the many ways the landscape of New York State has been recorded, romanticized, utilized, and imagined" (and closes on 3 March, so now is a good time to visit!) Evan Euripidou of Anthology Studio created an arrangement of curly willow, Italian ruscus, Florida cedar, sword fern, African boxwood, aspidistra, lemon leaf, rush, tulips, freesia, safari sanset protea, ornithagulum, and trabellium that beckons visitors to venture within.

An arrangement of alstromeia, iris, hydrangea, delphinium, seeded eucalyptus, schefflera, asparagus fern, roses, bamboo and spikes created by Reneta Benenanti of the Garden Club of Kinderhook perfectly complements Albert Pels's Tar Beach (ca. 1938) and Thomas McKnight's Brooklyn Bridge II (1981).

Joan Reilly of Henry Clas Florist used solidago, pittosporum, dianthus, bells of Ireland, trachelium, hypericum, and curly willow to complement a folk art panel and other furniture produced in New York State.

A simple but striking arrangement of strelitz reginae, bird of paradise, oncidium orchid, and New Zealand flax, created by Mary Bohnet of the New York State Capital District Sogetsu Study Group, nicely complements wrought iron fencing and furniture.

Blondin Crossing the Niagara Falls for Lloyd's News, a two-part 1896 lithograph produced by Sir Joseph Caston and Sons, is visually compelling. This arrangement by Erin Brady of Crazy Daisy Florist, which consists of iris, monte casino, thistle, curly willow, and pussy willow, complements both the lithograph and the wrought iron bench sitting beneath it.

Connie Strong Wilbur of the Bethlehem Garden Club produced a landscape of lemon leaf, tulips, ruscus, iris, heather, spider mums, and trachellium that fits perfectly among a series of landscape paintings.

The birds perched amongst the yellow Asiatic lilies, white alstromeria, purple gladioli, and aspidistra arranged by Laurel Rice of Laurel's Flower Shop look as if they might have flown out of J.W. Hill's Adirondack watercolors.

At present, the Research Gallery section of the West Hall is home to Beneath the City: An Archeological Perspective of Albany, which highlights some of the artifacts that came to light when a section of the city's waterfront was partially excavated in preparation for construction of a parking garage. (Yes, in their infinite wisdom, our state and city leaders decided against attempting to capitalize upon Albany's unique past -- never mind that Jamestown, Virginia is attracting more than a few tourist dollars by doing so -- and focused on solving parking problems.)

Above, the remains of an 18th century rum distilling vat, with protea, aspidistra, tulips, bergolia, grape vine, and Spanish moss arranged by Yetta Teo of the Greenport Garden Club.

The stoneware jug that holds the arrangement of lillies, Gerbera daisies, stock, waxflowers, and pittisporum that Donna Vincent of the Schenectady ARC created echoes the adjacent display of crockery fragments recovered from the excavation site.

The Country Florist's Jan O'Brien assembled a very spring-seeming collection of flowers: alstomeria, aster, carnation, daffodil, liatris, roses, croton leaves, moss, myrtle, and sea star fern.

This arrangement by Sue Dillhoff of the Greenport Garden Club sits in a transitional space between the Beneath the City exhibit and the permanent Adirondack Wilderness exhibit that occupies most of the West Hall. At the moment, this space highlights the State Museum's holdings and research activities, and the Asiatic lilies, alstromeria, Gerbera daisies, snapdragons, leather leaves, lencodendron, asparagus fern, and antique-looking jug and glasses bring into it the oranges and yellows of Behind the City.

This simple but dramatic arrangement of hydrangea, lilies, roses, wax flowers, and bear grass was created by Michelle Peters of Ambiance Florals and Events.

The space outlining the State Museum's holdings and research activities quickly gives way to the vast Adirondack Wilderness exhibit. This wintry exhibit of green and purple trachelium, quince, ming fern, foxtail, flowering branch, curly willow, gypsophilia, and star of Bethlehem, created by Emily Pecora of the Albany BOCES, marked one point of entry into it.

Tomorrow's post will highlight some essential electronic records readings, but I'll post more photographs from the Adirondack Wilderness exhibit on Thursday.

Catching up: Haiti, metadata, New York State Archives

Sorry for the light posting as of late. On 13 October, I confidently predicted that a flurry of posts would be forthcoming. Well, it didn't happen. That 13 October post went live during a long layover at CLT, and during the flight from CLT to ALB I started feeling . . . bad. I had come down with a cold several days earlier, but it seemed to be a peaceable, mild sort of virus, and I figured it would go away after a couple of days. However, the cold kicked into high gear during the flight to ALB, and it stayed that way for more than a week. Now that I've recovered, you should see some more activity around here.

Here are a few things that may interest you:

• People before records: as you probably know, there is an outbreak of cholera in Haiti, which is still reeling from the devastation caused by the 12 January 2010 earthquake. At the time of this writing, over 200 people have died and over 2,600 people have been sickened. Health workers on the ground are increasingly afraid that the disease, which can result in rapid, agonizing death, will spread to the capital of Port au Prince; if it does, an already horrific situation will become truly calamitous. Doctors Without Borders and Partners in Health have seasoned personnel on the ground in Haiti, and on the right-hand side of this page you'll find links that make it easy for you to donate to these organizations. Please consider giving whatever you can to Doctors Without Borders, Partners in Health, or other reputable groups working to help Haiti recover from the earthquake and its aftermath.

• Earlier this month, the Washington Supreme Court ruled that the metadata associated with e-mail is a public record subject to disclosure under the state's Public Records Act. The majority opinion also contains some other interesting tidbits. First, the plaintiff's initial request, which centered upon the message itself, did not, in and of itself, constitute a request for the accompanying metadata; however, the opinion notes that the case at hand marks the first time that the issue of metadata has arisen in litigation relating to the state's public records law. Second, the local government being sued has the right and the obligation to inspect the hard drive of the home computer of the official who received the message at the center of the request. This official opened the message while at home, printed a copy, and then deleted the message from the local government's e-mail system. Finally, the court cited as precedent a recent decision (Irwin v. Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency) handed down by the 4th Department of the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court -- which, despite its name, is not New York State's high court. (Thanks to my colleague Linda for this tip!)

• As of 16 October, the New York State Archives and the New York State Library are open Monday-Saturday. I helped to staff our reference desk today and had a surprisingly good time -- we got some great researchers, and having a workday devoid of meetings and urgent e-mails was a really pleasant change of pace. Please visit the State Archives or State Library on Saturdays -- lots of eager reference personnel will be waiting to help you! And be sure to check out the superb New York State Museum, which is located in the same building.

Why I'm an archivist, not a natural history curator

Like a lot of archivists, I've got a few war stories. I've processed records that were housed in a rat- and roach-infested basement, moved moldy records out of a psychiatric center building slated for demolition, and helped to transfer vast quantities of red-rotted volumes from one storage location to another. However, few of the materials with which I've worked smell. I'm familiar with the musty aroma of records that have endured decades of damp conditions, the charred odor of records that were singed in a fire, and the vinegar/plastic smell of decaying electronic storage media, but I have yet to run into any records that really offend.

In contrast, some of my colleagues at the New York State Museum work with materials that, put it mildly, stink. At the moment, the museum's Curator of Mammals and several other staffers are, um, processing the remains of a 50-foot fin whale and a 40-foot humpback whale that were ensnared in fishing nets and washed ashore last winter.

After they were found, the bodies of the whales were cut up, moved to a rural area in western Massachusetts, and allowed to decompose under a tarp for several months. Now, my State Museum colleagues have moved the remains -- which are still maggoty -- to the Albany area so that they can prepare to accession the whales' skeletons. Their work is far from done:

State Museum staffers still have labor left, cutting away tissue, power-washing the bones and scrubbing them with a weak ammonia solution. They may end up burying some of the bones in horse manure, as recommended, to speed up decomposition. Finally, the bones will require a good, long airing out of six months or longer.

The museum currently holds an Atlantic right whale skeleton, and these new acquisitions will complement its existing holdings quite nicely. Moreover, they have research value:

Scientists will be able to study the whales' inner ears and the pathology of their bones for signs of decompression sickness, known as "the bends." There is a theory posited by some researchers that powerful sonar used by Navy vessels may disturb and disorient whales so that they surface too quickly and contract the bends -- a formation of nitrogen bubbles in the blood and tissues when ascending rapidly from a drive. The bends are marked by severe pains in the joints, cramps, paralysis and even death.

I understand why the museum wants to acquire these specimens. At the same time, I can't help but think: eeeeeeeeewwwwww! I have boundless respect for the strong-willed, strong-stomached museum staffers who are processing these skeletons, and I hope that these skeletons impress and educate museum visitors and help scientists figure out how to save the lives of other whales. However, I think I'll continue to work with records.

Skeleton of Atlantic right whale, New York State Museum, 22 September 2010. The flipper bones are currently being rearticulated and will be reattached to the skeleton in a few weeks.