Job Opening Title:
Research Assistant, Textual Digitization and Collation PT, Philadelphia area. 10 hours per week at $27.00 per hour, three to four months.
Name of Employer:
CORVUS CONSULTING LLC
Job Site Location (City AND State):
Drexel Hill, PA
Application Deadline:
Open until filled
Minimum Degree Requirement:
Bacehlor’s Considered, Master’s or Graduate Work preferred
Years of experience required:
1-5 years
Salary Range:
27.00 Hourly
Job Opening URL:
Job Description (if URL to posting not available). Include instructions for how to apply:
Research Assistant, Textual Digitization and Collation
Part-time, Philadelphia area. 10 hours per week at $27.00 per hour, three to four months.
The Project
We are preparing a new scholarly edition of a mid-century American novel. We seek someone with training or experience in library science, archives, or digitization to digitize our copy of the first edition and prepare a corrected machine-readable text for collation. Graduate students, recent graduates, working professionals, and experienced independent practitioners are all welcome to apply.
Responsibilities
The assistant will capture every page at 400 ppi or higher and archive the images as uncompressed or losslessly compressed TIFF files, with consistent file naming and basic technical metadata. The book will not be pressed flat. Capture will use the book cradle and overhead setup we provide, which supports the volume at a partial opening and keeps the binding intact for the length of the project.
From those images the assistant will produce an OCR text of the first edition, compare it against an existing transcription of a later paperback, and check each point of disagreement against the page image. All decisions will be recorded in an emendation log giving page and line, both readings, and the resolution. The assistant will also run a targeted check for common OCR errors, including confused characters, lost italics, and end-of-line hyphenation.
Qualifications
Candidates should have coursework or experience in special collections, preservation, or digitization, and should know how to handle bound volumes without damaging them. Familiarity with current imaging guidelines such as FADGI is expected. We also want working knowledge of OCR software such as ABBYY FineReader or Tesseract, comfort with text comparison tools, and the patience to proofread closely against a source image. Experience with textual editing or descriptive bibliography is a plus.
Terms
The position is 10 hours per week at $27.00 per hour for three to four months. Further projects are possible for the right person. We supply all capture equipment. Candidates must live in the Philadelphia area. We will meet in person periodically to review progress and exchange materials, so we cannot consider applicants from outside the region. You will do the scanning and collation work from home.
To Apply
Send a CV, a short statement of relevant experience, and the name of one professional or academic reference to gerry@corvusedu.com.