Dear archivists and colleagues,

I’m writing to share the news that Best Practices for Archival Term Positions is now available online: https://osf.io/a4zc8/.

Written by the Term Labor Best Practices Working Group, this document presents best practices for administrators, hiring managers, and supervisors to put into action when planning for and employing archival term positions. At the foundation of this document is the recognition that temporary labor is detrimental to employees, as well as to sustainable and holistic collection stewardship.

We encourage you to share this document widely. Managers should be empowered by their institutions to contribute to discussions related to position development whenever possible; supervisors should use this document as guidance in advocating for more ethical term positions; and project staff should be empowered to use these best practices as a tool to advocate for themselves.

All best and in solidarity,

Alison Clemens

on behalf of the Term Labor Best Practices Working Group:

Alison Clemens, Courtney Dean, Angel Diaz, Margaret Hughes, Monika Lehman, Lauren McDaniel, Kit Messick, Sarah Quigley, Sheridan Leigh Sayles, Laura Starratt, Camila Zorrilla Tessler