Historic Book and Artifact Conservation Specialist

Location: Lowell, Massachusetts

Position: Full-time

Duties:

• Perform a wide variety of conservation treatments, specifically focusing on historic books, framed works on paper, historic photo albums, water-damaged books, bronze sculptures, and plaster friezes.
• Examine historic books and artifacts to determine the nature and cause of deterioration, conduct necessary testing, and select appropriate conservation techniques for treatment.
• Develop conservation treatments for historic books and other artifacts providing written documentation for the examination, condition analysis, treatment proposal, and final treatment phases.
• Comply with all OSHA and NIOSH regulations in laboratory operations.

• Completion of a graduate program in conservation or equivalent degree of knowledge and skill through formal apprenticeship programs with accredited museums and/or professionally recognized conservators.
• Graduate level degree in a related field such as art history, historic preservation, or fine arts, with coursework in architectural history, preservation, archaeology, or materials conservation.
• Full professional knowledge of conservation theory, procedures, and techniques for the conservation of historic furniture and furnishings.
• Experience in the conservation of historic books and artifacts, including high-resolution digital tethered photography.
• General knowledge of professional standards of historic house museum operations.
• Strong verbal and writing skills to convey complex information accurately and clearly.
• Extensive knowledge of computer software programs, including Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, and spreadsheet programs like Excel.