Volunteer Opportunities
Following is a list of volunteer opportunities available at the Missouri State Archives. The opportunities represent the various components of work in the archive(s). Equipment and procedures training will be provided for each task. Scheduling is flexible with a minimum time commitment of four hours per week for those individuals who volunteer in house at the Missouri State Archives. Opportunities also exist for volunteer activities outside of the archives.
Project Assistant: Photograph Collection
Importance of job to organization: The Missouri State Archives has several projects that when completed, will both offer increased access to the photograph collections and insure that the collections are maintained using archival methods. The volunteer will serve an important function by completing the target projects.
Duties: Special projects involving Missouri State Archives Photograph Collection; miscellaneous duties as required.
Qualifications: Basic typing skills; legible handwriting; ability to organize materials either alphabetically or numerically; ability to work independently; willingness to accept a variety of tasks.
Research Assistant: Genealogy
Importance of job to organization: The Missouri State Archives receives more than four hundred requests for genealogical information by mail and e-mail each week. Over half of these requests involve locating information from county, state, and federal microfilm. Our goal is to return each request within eight weeks. In addition, the Archives has a number of in-house patrons every day who require assistance with microfilm viewing equipment and help in understanding the records. A volunteer will play an important role in returning mail requests in a timely manner and in helping our patrons find the information they seek.
Duties: Research microfilm records and printed materials to answer mail requests for genealogical information; shelve microfilm and printed materials; make copies from microfilm and printed books as requested; assist patrons with use of microfilm viewers; other miscellaneous tasks.
Qualifications: Familiarity with genealogical research; willingness to help patrons with questions and equipment in a congenial manner; willingness to accept a variety of tasks. We will train on office equipment.
Reference Assistant: Reference Services
Importance of job to organization: The Missouri State Archives welcomes several hundred visitors to the Reference Room each month. We try to ensure that each patron has an enjoyable visit and is able to obtain any assistance he or she may need during the course of the visit. This includes location of our reference collection, helping find materials, and making any copies. A volunteer will fulfill an important role by assisting our patrons in their use of the Archives.
Duties: Assist Archives' patrons in general reference questions, use of finding aids, and locating materials; reshelve and straighten books; make photocopies for patrons; answer telephone when necessary; other miscellaneous tasks.
Qualifications: Familiarity with genealogical research; ability to help general public in a congenial manner; willingness to accept a variety of tasks. We will train on office equipment.
Computer Operator: Technical Services
Importance of job to organization: A number of permanent collections are stored in the stacks of the Missouri State Archives. Many of the storage boxes are in various states of disrepair, with inadequate or missing labels. The volunteer will relabel these materials for easier identification and retrieval by Archives' staff. In addition, many of the finding aids for the stack area are becoming tattered from use. The volunteer will perform a much-needed service by entering information from the finding aids into a computer template to create uniform finding aids for the staff and public to use.
Duties: Retype stack area finding aids using Microsoft Word; relable acid-free boxes in the stack area; other miscellaneous tasks.
Qualifications: Basic typing skills and familiarity with Microsoft Word are desired; ability to lift and carry archival storage boxes (up to 40 pounds); willingness to accept other tasks.
Processing Clerk: Technical Services
Importance of job to organization: Many paper records are received at the Archives weekly. These records will either be permanently retained in the Archives collection, or microfilmed. Before either can take place, the materials must be sorted, arranged in a useful manner, and prepared for storage or microfilming. In addition, a finding aid must be created to identify the record and its location in the Archives. The volunteer will participate in the process under the supervision of an archivist.
Duties: Prepare records for microfilming or storage by doing the following tasks: flat-fold materials and remove foreign objects (stables, paper clips, etc.); label folders as to contents; create a list of folders as completed; other miscellaneous tasks.
Qualifications: Experience not necessary; we will train.
Transcription
Importance of job to organization: The Missouri State Archives holds a number of records with little or no index available. The Archives is conducting several projects transcribing records in order to increase access to these records for researchers. Many of these transcription projects may be completed at the volunteers home.
Duties: Transcribe records into a computer file. A template will be provided by the Archives. Track and report hours volunteered for each month.
Qualifications: Basic typing skills and familiarity with spreadsheet and word processing programs.
If you are interested in any of these opportunities, please contact the Missouri State Archives.
Missouri State Archives
600 West Main Street
Jefferson City, MO 65102
P. O. Box 1747
Telephone - 573-751-3280
Fax - 573-526-7333
E-Mail - archref@sos.mo.gov