Auto req ID 37105BR
Business Title Digital Projects Archivist
School/Unit Harvard Law School
Sub-Unit ————
Location USA – MA – Cambridge
Job Function Library
Time Status Full-time
Schedule Monday through Friday, 9 to 5
Duties & Responsibilities
Under the supervision of the Manager, Digital Strategies for Collections, Library Innovation Lab, the Digital Projects Archivist serves as a member of a library team dedicated to producing authoritative, open, and persistent digital resources that support teaching, learning, and the practice of law. By preparing materials for digitization, undertaking quality control of digital objects, and producing metadata with tagging tools, the Digital Projects Archivist ensures that quality requirements are achieved in each project. He or she ensures that the Lab is accountable for the status of each item in each current project; serves as the Library’s liaison to Harvard’s in-house digitization services bureau, as well as to partners to whom the HLS Library lends materials for digitization; schedules work of specialists working on mass digitization initiatives; and works in close collaboration with the Lab’s Web Developer to design and enhance tools for tracking, metadata creation, data validation, and other core project functions.
Essential Functions:
• Serve as the Library’s liaison to Harvard Library’s Imaging Services unit to ensure that all specifications and workflows for in-house digitization are appropriately followed and documented
• Manage schedules and prioritize assignments to staff engaged in large-scale projects
• Train project assistants in daily processes and procedures and evaluate employee performance
• Contribute to project planning processes that establish workflows, best practices, timelines, and budgets
• Contribute to the functional requirements for software, and liaise regularly with the Digital Lab’s Web Developer to improve workflows and to optimize the management and delivery of digital resources
• Write and update procedures
• Maintain item-level tracking inventory of all source materials throughout the digitization process
• Review and supplement the metadata that accompanies source materials for use in downstream processes to describe digital objects and to structure their component parts
• Prepare materials for digitization by using appropriate techniques to make each item “camera ready” (e.g., by removing fasteners, unfolding pages).
• Pack and transfer materials, with appropriate materials and techniques, to the preparation, conservation, digitization, and quality control phases of each project workflow; ensure that materials are safely returned.
• Produce accurate transfer forms and instruction sheets to facilitate check in of materials by service providers and to communicate digitization/digital processing requirements.
• Undertake quality assurance on representative sample of digital objects; request or apply remedies for errors.
• Participate actively as a collegial, collaborative, and communicative member of the HLS project teams that plan and implement digitization and digital acquisition project plans, specifications, and workflows.
Basic Qualifications
– 5 years or more directly related experience, ideally in a library setting.
Additional Qualifications – Bachelor’s degree preferred, plus one to two years of experience working with library and archival materials, ideally in a research library.
– Master’s degree in Library Science, Information Science or equivalent a plus
– Proven ability to learn new technologies and adaptability to master and manage multiple workflows.
– Excellent verbal and written communications, meticulous and accurate recordkeeping, track record of meeting deadlines consistently, proficiency and enjoyment working independently as well as on teams, and a commitment to client (library patron) service.
– Knowledge of format and encoding standards such as METS, MODS, EAD, TIFF, JP2.
– Experience in processing manuscripts, archives, rare books, or visual materials.
– Experience in digitization or open access initiatives.
– Course work in digital stewardship, management of cultural heritage materials, information management, or project management.
Additional Information This job requires that loads of up to 50 pounds can be lifted and/or moved.
This is a term appointment currently expected to extend to June 30, 2016, subject to funding and departmental need.
All offers to be made by HLS Human Resources.
Read complete announcement and apply to req ID 37105BR at Harvard Careers.
Archives Gig 