In the libraries, we provide resources for anthropologists, translators and literacy staff working in language communities. In the archives, we organize, describe, store, preserve and share their life’s work.
SIL staff contribute to language programs and academic disciplines. Then the Archives team records, stores and shares that information. The Teamwork Library group provides an online database for Asia and Africa areas. The archives shares much of its data with the world via SIL’s website.
Depending on their role, staff live at home or around the world. Dallas, Texas, houses the global archives, but most archiving is digital and done online. The Teamwork Library Administration team lives in Asia and the U.S. They work with librarians in Asia and Africa. But staff also work in field offices and private homes in various countries.
Asia and Africa staff meet and train monthly. Different teams recently learned about personality types and did team-building activities. Others went through an SIL course on intellectual property rights.
In this area of service, you might run the circulation and organization of a library. You might help others use the online database to find items. You could describe language resources, add metadata and upload the information. Or you might manage collections.
To serve as a librarian or archivist, you know how to work alone and with others. You note details. You’re teachable. And you communicate well.