Collections Coordinator, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH

Posted February 2, 2017

The Special Collections Description & Access Department at the Ohio State University Libraries is seeking applicants. This position will work as a highly collaborative team on a 2-year project to:

• migrate existing archival collection description from a variety of legacy sources to Archivists’ Toolkit
• review the physical contents of these collections to ensure the description accurately aligns with physical holdings and revise/create/etc. description as needed (including performing MPLP-appropriate lite processing, where needed, to address inaccuracies)
• publish finding aids for all collections worked on, thus allowing for independent research discovery of many of these collections for the first time 

This will be a fast-paced, highly collaborative project requiring lots of problem-solving and attention to detail; anyone with a solid knowledge of and experience in the best practices for archival arrangement and description and an interest in working on a challenging, team-oriented project is encourage to apply.  All postings are open now through 2/12/2017.

Summary of Duties

Working on a project team under the direction of the Special Collections Processing Manager and in close collaboration with the Special Collections Migration Project Collections Coordinator, this position is responsible for performing activities to improve intellectual control over and access to special collections materials held at the Ohio State University Libraries (OSUL); reviews existing archival collections metadata in many formats (EAD, MARC, multiple databases, PDF, HTML, Word, Excel, etc.), evaluates integrity of data and determines strategies for migrating data to Archivists’ Toolkit; performs all production tasks involved in migrating collections data, including many repetitive tasks and workflows, with a high degree of concentration and accuracy; reformats metadata as necessary for successful transfer between systems, via Extract-Transform-Load (ETL) methods such as SQL queries, complex spreadsheet manipulations, shell scripting, or XML transformations; reviews metadata for compliance with Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS) and the OSUL guidelines for archival description, identifies when revisions are necessary and performs or oversees revisions; exports EAD records from AT for all collections and follows existing workflow to upload and publish completed finding aids to the OSUL website; collaborates daily with the Special Collections Migration Project Collections Coordinator to identify when metadata revisions will impact physical collection materials and ensures that description is updated accurately in conjunction with any physical collection maintenance; creates or assists in the creation of archival description for materials lacking description, as identified by project team members; searches OSUL’s ILS (III Sierra) for companion catalog records for each archival collection, updates or creates catalog records in MARC as needed and ensures that description in finding aids corresponds appropriately with companion catalog records; works under the general supervision of the Special Collections Processing Manager, in consultation with the Head of Special Collections Description & Access, members of the OSUL?s Applications Development & Support Department, and directly with 3-5 additional team members involved in this project; consults and collaborates with others throughout the library as appropriate; may perform other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

Bachelor’s or education/experience equivalent; considerable experience writing and editing archival description in EAD and following DACS, with thorough knowledge of EAD and DACS rules; experience processing archival collections, including experience processing collections of various sizes, formats, and complexities; applied experience performing successful transformations with archival metadata, using processes such as SQL queries, shell scripting, XML transformations, or complex spreadsheet manipulation; prior experience using an archival collection management system, particularly Archivists Toolkit; prior experience creating and editing MARC records for archival collections; solid knowledge of professional archival standards and practices; ability to communicate this information effectively; strong organizational skills and high level of attention to detail; aptitude for solving complex problems efficiently; ability to work effectively in a highly collaborative environment; strong oral, written, and interpersonal skills.

Desired Qualifications

3-5 years’ experience writing and editing archival description in EAD; experience in project management or workflow development/documentation; previous experience working in a collaborative archival setting.

For more information and to apply, visit https://www.jobsatosu.com/postings/75905