Digitization Archivist - Libraries

West Virginia University•West Virginia, WV

1d•$61,000 - $71,000

About The Position

The Digitization Archivist leads the West Virginia and Regional History Center’s program for digitizing, managing, and providing access to digitized collection materials. The role supports researchers and students through responsible collection stewardship and increased access to digital special collections. The archivist prioritizes, conducts, and oversees digitization of analog and audiovisual materials; establishes and maintains imaging, format, and descriptive metadata standards; and creates and ingests digital objects into appropriate repositories to ensure accessibility and discoverability. As the primary point of contact for the digitization lab, the archivist manages equipment and resources for digitization. The position reports to and is supervised by the Head of Collections Management and Processing of the West Virginia and Regional History Center. It may supervise staff, graduate assistants, student workers, or interns. Evaluation is based on West Virginia University Libraries’ Criteria for Library Faculty Appointment, Retention, Promotion, and Merit, the current Position Description, and the Assignment Document for the year under review. The salary range is $61,000–$71,000 plus fringe, depending on starting rank.

Requirements

Master’s degree from an ALA-accredited program for library and information sciences, or equivalent.
At least one year of experience working with digital materials in archives or libraries.
Experience in digitization and digital archives management practices, technologies, and tools.
Experience with digital project management.
Working knowledge of standards related to digital records, digital objects, and metadata, and knowledge of digital content formats and standards.
Knowledge of national standards and best practices for archival description, including DACS and EAD, authority control, and other data content and structure standards relevant to archival control.
High degree of technical facility and openness to investigating emerging technologies.
Demonstrated ability to learn new technical skills through research and self-study.
Demonstrated ability to take initiative and meet goals.
Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
Cultural competency and interest in participating in discussions and initiatives reflecting the WVRHC’s commitment to expanding and supporting a diverse historical record.

Responsibilities

Lead the WVRHC digitization strategy in coordination with the WVRHC director, Head of Collections Management and Processing, and other stakeholders.
Identify and prioritize materials for digitization based on collection needs, patron requests, institutional priorities, and applicable standards.
Conduct and oversee digitization of analog and audiovisual materials in accordance with FADGI and other relevant imaging, audiovisual, format, preservation, and accessibility standards.
Conduct copyright, privacy, and other rights assessments to determine appropriate access levels for digitized materials.
Plan, manage, and document digitization projects from selection and preparation through quality control, metadata creation, repository ingest, and publication.
Manage relationships and projects with external digitization vendors, including specifications, workflows, deliverables, and quality control.
Establish and maintain descriptive metadata standards and practices for digital collections aligned with library standards and controlled vocabularies, including Dublin Core, LCNAF, and LCSH.
Create, enhance, remediate, and transform descriptive metadata to support discovery, interoperability, accessibility, and long-term management of digital collections.
Conduct quality control of internally and externally digitized materials and associated metadata, identifying and resolving technical, descriptive, and accessibility issues.
Prepare digital objects and associated metadata for ingest into the Hyku repository and other designated digital storage or access systems; coordinate with the Head of Processing to ensure digital content is represented in ArchivesSpace as needed.
Ingest and publish digital objects in Hyku; support, upload, and troubleshoot digital files and metadata in collaboration with the Digital Preservation Archivist and Digital Collections and Systems Librarian.
Support digital collections maintenance in Hyku, including reformatting, updating metadata, and reingesting content as needed.
Develop, document, and maintain digitization, metadata, repository, and digital collection workflows in coordination with the Digital Preservation Archivist and Digital Collections and Systems Librarian.
Manage and contribute to grant-funded digitization and digital collections projects, including planning, implementation, documentation, and reporting.
Serve as the primary point of contact for the digitization lab and coordinate maintenance, troubleshooting, and lifecycle management of digitization equipment and related systems in collaboration with the Systems Department.
Train and direct staff, students, and interns working with digitized collections; review work products for quality, accuracy, consistency, and adherence to established standards and procedures.
Provide specialized information services related to digital archives, including limited instruction, reference, and research consultation for students, faculty, and community researchers, in coordination with the Instruction Archivist and public services staff.
Conduct outreach as needed and coordinate digitization and digital collections initiatives with campus units, community partners, and other stakeholders.
Maintain and report accurate statistics, documentation, and project records related to digitization and digitized collections.
Serve and actively contribute to relevant committees, task forces, and working groups at the Library, University, regional, and/or national level.
Engage in professional development and/or research related to the assignment and/or the needs of the Libraries and the University.