NEW ENGLAND — The Contingent Employment Study III (CES III) — a research taskforce of the Inclusion and Diversity Committee (IDC) of New England Archivists (NEA) — announces the launch of its CES III Survey, now open through August 31, 2026. 

The CES III research team seeks to hear directly from archival workers with current and recent experience in contingent employment or employment in temporary and term positions. This includes grant-funded positions, part-time positions, positions without timely or reliable renewal of contract, and any employment without benefits (e.g., vacation time, health insurance, and retirement contributions) enjoyed by colleagues at the same institution.

All eligible archival workers are invited to respond to the CES III Survey — which takes approximately 30–45 minutes — and share the link to the survey with colleagues and friends. Respondents do not have to be a member of NEA or be currently employed in the archival field to take the survey. Eligible participants include:

(1) archival workers or former archival workers who have been contingently employed in the New England region (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont) during the past ten years, 2016–2026; or 

(2) archival workers or former archival workers who have been contingently-employed anywhere in the United States during the last ten years (2016–2026) and are currently living or working in the New England region. 

CES III marks the third iteration of the NEA/IDC’s Contingent Employment Study, which aims to gather data about contingent employment and how this precarious labor practice impacts the professional experiences of New England’s archival communities. Its timing serves as a key measure of the ways the archival profession has progressed or failed to progress in creating equitable employment opportunities for qualified archivists in the years since CES II in 2021 and CES I in 2016.

The enduring relevance of the CES mission is made more urgent by the current sociopolitical and economic climate in the United States, which brings the longstanding issue of contingent employment in the archival field into dialogue with wider labor trends. To reflect this new landscape, the survey has been updated to include questions related to the job market, anti-DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) developments, funding cuts, changes to student loans, and artificial intelligence (AI) use in the profession. 

At the end of the CES III Survey, respondents are also invited to participate in an optional follow-up interview, which is an opportunity to share further personal experiences and perspectives on contingent employment conditions in the archival field. Research data from the survey and follow-up interviews will be anonymized and maintained by NEA.

The research team will share their findings and recommendations on how to better support contingently employed archival workers with NEA’s executive board in early 2027. The results of this study will also be made available to the public in a final NEA report and a journal article anticipated later in 2027.

Questions are welcome and can be directed to Elizabeth Nosari, CES III chair, at CEStudy@newenglandarchivists.org.


CES III Taskforce Members
Sally Blanchard-O’Brien
Erica Buswell
Alexandra Dunn
Irene Gates
Nicole Gómez
Mollie Metevier
Elizabeth Nosari
Clarrie Scholtz