Historic Newspaper Indexing Student

Division: Cultural Services

Job Status: Summer Student

Number of Positions: 1

Hours of Work: 35 hours per week

Wages: $19.60 per hour

Posting Date: Monday, January 19, 2026

Closing Date: Sunday, February 1, 2026

Company Biography

The County of Lambton is an urban-rural area in southwestern Ontario that is home to over 126,000 residents. The Corporation's seven divisions operate programs and services for the residents of Lambton County such as land ambulance, provincial offences court, three Long-Term Care Homes, 25 library branches, two museums, an art gallery, archives, local roadways, public health services, housing services, social services, building services and planning and development services. Lambton County is a community dedicated to economic growth, environmental stewardship and an enhanced quality of life through the provision of responsive and efficient services and collaborative efforts with its municipal and community partners.

Position Summary

The Historic Newspaper Indexing Summer Student is responsible for enhancing the Lambton County Archives collection by indexing, scanning, and filing negatives of photographs that appeared in local newspapers. The student must identify, organize, and categorize photographic negatives and add the image plus contextual information to the searchable database.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

Clean Negatives/Archival Preservation

• Clean the negatives, removing any dust and fingerprints.

• Once cleaned, scan each image creating a digital copy of the image.

• Place negatives into proper archival sleeves.

• Label each sleeve with its unique number and file numerically in an acid-free box.

Research Negatives

• Utilize information contained on the existing negative envelope to determine the date of publication and subject matter.

• Use microfilm to determine which image(s) appeared in the newspaper.

• Describe each photograph based on the caption that was originally published beneath it in the newspaper in the collections database.

Database Entry

• Use predefined terms to determine which subject category the image fits into.

• Assign a unique number to each image, which becomes the object identification number for that image.

• Input each image into the collections database.

General:

• Incumbents must keep up-to-date on all relevant legislation, collective bargaining agreements, County Policies and Procedures, etc. ensuring that these are implemented as prescribed

• Incumbents must possess the physical ability to meet the duties and responsibilities of the job description and/or the requirements identified within the position's Physical Demands Analysis.

These describe the general nature and level of work being performed by the incumbent in this classification.  They are not an exhaustive list of all job duties in the classification.  Other duties may be assigned.

Supervision Requirements

Direct Supervision: Not applicable

Indirect Supervision: Not applicable

Functional Authority: Not applicable

Credentials Required

Minimum Formal Education

• Must be enrolled in a postsecondary program, preferably in a history or archival program.

• Must be returning to school in upcoming school year.

Experience

• Familiarity with scanning hardware and software.

• Accurate keyboarding skills, strong attention to detail, and an ability to work independently are required. 

• Knowledge of local history and/or archival practices is an asset.

Candidates must meet Young Canada Works (YCW) eligibility requirements. To be eligible you must:

• be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident, or have refugee status in Canada.
Note: Non-Canadian students or graduates holding temporary work visas or awaiting permanent status are not eligible.

• be legally entitled to work in Canada.

• be between 16 and 30 years of age at the start of employment.

• have finished the school term at the start of employment.

• meet the specific eligibility criteria of the program to which you apply.

• be registered in the Young Canada Works (YCW) online candidate inventory.

• be willing to commit to the full duration of the work assignment.

• not have another full-time job (over 30 hours a week) while employed with YCW.

• have been a full-time student (as defined by his or her educational institution) in the semester preceding the YCW job.

• intend to return to full-time studies in the semester following the YCW job.