Metadata Student Assistant

The Ohio State University

3d • Hybrid

About The Position

Metadata is “data about data,” or rather information that is used to describe, locate, manage, and preserve information resources, such as a document, audio file, or digital image. Simple examples of metadata include: the title of a book, running time of a movie, or genre of a song. The Metadata Student Assistant aids Ohio State University Libraries’ Metadata Initiatives Librarian and Metadata Specialist with projects related to creating, transforming, and editing non-MARC metadata for the Libraries’ Digital Collections (DC). This repository includes a wide variety of digitized and born-digital special collections and archival resources. Tasks include finding, creating, and editing metadata using Microsoft Excel and/or Open Refine; editing and publishing online metadata records in DC; perform quality review as instructed to ensure metadata accuracy and integrity on all assigned projects; create original descriptions of works to aid access and the University’s Digital Accessibility Policy.

Requirements

• Enrolled in a Masters degree with a focus on Library and Information Science, Art History, History, English, or Humanities.
• Likes detailed work, even if it is sometime repetitive
• Always double checks for typos
• Enjoys working independently
• Comfortable learning new technologies and skills
• Experience using Microsoft Excel
• Good communication, interpersonal skills, and collaboration
• Comfortable participating in meetings

Nice To Haves

• Completed cataloging and/or metadata coursework
• Familiarity with controlled vocabularies, e.g. Library of Congress Subject Headings, Getty Art & Architecture Thesaurus
• Experience with digital collections
• Experience with data manipulation with OpenRefine

Responsibilities

• Creating new metadata and/or repurposing existing metadata
• Ingesting metadata and digital files into the DC repository
• Verifying that ingests were successful
• Aiding with accessibility for digital files. This may include: 1. transcribing pages that have not been converted to machine-readable text; 2. proofreading and correcting transcriptions; 3. Providing alternative text for images; 4. reviewing and editing captions and transcriptions for audiovisual resources.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Part-time
• Career Level: Entry Level