Archivist, Hong Kong Collections

Date Posted: 08/04/2026
Req ID: 49679
Faculty/Division: Library
Department: Canada Hong Kong Library
Campus: St. George (Downtown Toronto)
Position Number: 00059913
Existing Vacancy: Yes

Description:

About us:

The University of Toronto Libraries (UTL) system is the largest academic library in Canada and is ranked in the top five among peer institutions in North America. The system comprises 40 libraries located across three university campuses: St.George, Mississauga, and Scarborough. This diverse and extensive network of college libraries, special collections, and specialized information centres plays a pivotal role in supporting the teaching, scholarly, and research needs of nearly 100,000 students enrolled in a wide array of graduate, professional, and undergraduate programs. The library system provides access to millions of resources in various formats, including electronic, print, audio-visual, data and geospatial materials. UTL also boasts impressive holdings of archival material and substantial digital collections, securely preserved in the libraries' data centre. The staff at UTL are integral to the academic and scholarly enterprise, working closely with faculty and students to support their teaching, learning, and research requirements. They are subject matter experts; they are skilled in research data management, collections, statistics, GIS, metadata, digital preservation, scholarly communications, copyright, teaching, knowledge synthesis, open access and much more. Our work is grounded in our commitment to support equity, diversity, and inclusion.

UTL continuously evolves to meet the changing academic priorities and pressures at the University and within the broader landscape of higher education.

Your opportunity:

The Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library at the University of Toronto is located on the 8th Floor of Robarts Library and contains the largest Hong Kong research collection in Canada. We enjoy a friendly and respectful team atmosphere with a strong service orientation toward our community. As part of the central University of Toronto Libraries (UTL) system we build partnerships with colleagues to strengthen our collections, workflows, and services.

Under the direction of the Director, Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library, the Archivist – Hong Kong Collections, shall appraise, acquire, accession, arrange and describe records held in the University of Toronto Libraries that document the social, economic, literary, cultural and history of Hong Kong. The incumbent will work collaboratively with colleagues in the Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library, the Cheng Yu Tung East Asian Library, the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, and the Media Commons Archives in Robarts Library. The incumbent will respond to reference inquiries from the University community and the public, and undertake various administrative tasks as directed by the Director of the Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library.


Your responsibilities will include:

• Assessing needs and contributing to the planning of unit goals and initiatives
• Developing material acquisition strategies and plans that support preservation and research needs
• Meeting with potential donors to assess materials and reach agreement on the donation of material to the archives
• Assessing resources and reference material to determine suitability
• Performing original descriptive cataloguing of resources and/or archival materials

Essential Qualifications:

• Master's Degree in Archival Studies, Library or Information or acceptable combination of equivalent experience.
• Six to seven years experience working in a library/archives environment, preferably Hong Kong related or other special collections.
• Excellent knowledge of archival standards andbest practices
• Experience working with current and non-current archival and special collections
• Fluency in written (classical and simplified) and spoken Chinese (Cantonese), able to comprehend major traditional Chinese script styles
• Familiarity with Hong Kong archives in all formats as well as digital preservation and access tools
• Demonstrated commitment to the values of inclusivity, diversity, anti-racism, equity and accessibility
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Excellent interpersonal and teamwork skills
• Detail-oriented; works with attention to accuracy
• Proven initiative, flexibility and ability to learn new technologies and organizational systems
• Ability to lift 40 lb. boxes on a regular basis

To be successful in this role you will be:

• Adaptable
• Communicator
• Meticulous
• Organized
• Procedural
• Responsible

Notes:

• This is a one (1) year term appointment.

Lived Experience Statement
Candidates who are members of Indigenous, Black, racialized and 2SLGBTQ+ communities, persons with disabilities, and other equity deserving groups are encouraged to apply, and their lived experience shall be taken into consideration as applicable to the posted position.

Job descriptions are available upon request for internal applicants.