Metadata and Technical Services Archivist, Smith College, Northampton, MA
Posted September 16, 2014
AD0081 – Metadata and Technical Services Archivist
Department: Libraries
Job Category: Staff
Position Control: AD0081
Grade: I
Position Category: Regular
Internal/External Position Type: Administrative
FLSA: Exempt
Position Summary:
Lead the Special Collections implementation of metadata standards and processing methodologies; develop and maintain policies and procedures for archival collection management consistent with nationally accepted standards; supervise digital workflow and training for Special Collections physical and digital content. Work closely with the Digital Strategies and Services staff.
Duties and Responsbilities:
Metadata & Systems: Establish workflows for metadata creation and capture, including accessioning, arrangement, description, and other all-inclusive metadata. Oversee existing collection management systems and manage the migration of legacy content to new systems when necessary.
Collection Management: Steward materials throughout the archival process from post-accessioning (including the writing, editing, and quality control of finding aids and other discovery tools for research use); promote collection access through uniform and improved description; in consultation with other archival staff and the Director of Special Collections establish goals (processing priorities) and criteria for processing materials; coordinate the integration of collections in all formats for improved access.
Workflow Management and Documentation: Reengineer technical procedures and practices for use in ever-evolving technological environments and communicate those to staff through the creation or revision of manuals as well as peer-to-peer training; collaborate with Libraries staff on the preservation and access of both analog and digital collection content within all system environments; in close collaboration with other archivists, serve as the principal manager of both analog and digital collection content metadata (administrative, descriptive, structural, and preservation) and collection management systems.
Work with archival staff to ensure the authenticity and reliability of digitized and born digital content according to archival best practices and standards; supervise the workflow of both born digital collection as well as the digitization of analog collections in the digital production studio.
Reference and Other: Provide reference and research service for patrons, including scheduled reading room coverage; train and supervise students in processing, digital content management, and other collections-based activities. Participate actively in the shared decision making for Special Collections, resource management, and program and policy development; participate actively in the archival profession as part of professional development; perform other duties as assigned.
Qualifications:
Education/Experience: Master’s degree from an ALA-accredited program or an advanced degree in a related disciplinary field with archival management coursework; Three years of experience with processing physical and digital collections, including the selection, processing and preservation of historical, valued, and sensitive documents; demonstrated understanding of issues related to digital records management and electronic records archiving. Experience as a project lead and as a peer trainer.
Skills: Ability to envision and execute successful digital content management projects; knowledge of archival theory; knowledge of copyright, donor restrictions, and permissions as related to analog and digital collections.
Strong technical skills required in format validation and conversion methods, data integrity techniques and technologies, long term storage planning, and digital asset management systems. Ability to articulate highly technical concepts to a variety of audiences);
Working knowledge of collection management, preservation and access platforms such as ArchivesSpace, Archivematica, Drupal, Fedora Commons, Omeka, and MetaArchive. In-depth knowledge of digital preservation standards: PREMIS and OAIS. Knowledge and experience writing in HTML and XML, structural databases, as well as related schema EAD / MARC and standards Dublin Core, METS, and MODS.
To apply, visit the Smith College website.