Research Assistant, WGBH Media Library, Boston, MA
Posted April 14, 2017
Job Overview
WGBH Media Library and Archives is hiring a temporary Research Assistant for the summer of 2017 to work on the PBS NewsHour Digitization Project.
In January 2016, the Council on Library and Information Resources awarded WGBH, the Library of Congress, WETA, and NewsHour Productions, LLC a grant to digitize, preserve, and make publicly accessible on the AAPB website 32 years of NewsHour predecessor programs, from October 1975 to December 2007, that currently exist on obsolete analog formats.
The person in this temporary position will be responsible for following the AAPB’s quality control and asset review workflow for the NewsHour project. This includes reviewing assets on an item-by-item basis and 1) confirming that digitized assets are nightly broadcast episodes, 2) confirming that the recording is complete, 3) providing a description of the incompleteness if applicable, 4) confirming that the date listed in program slates matches the metadata record, 5) correcting the date if necessary, 6) reviewing assets for audio and video quality, and 7) confirming whether a transcript exists for the asset and that the transcript matches the content.
Department Overview
The Media Library and Archives (MLA) establishes the policies and procedures for the access, acquisition, intellectual control, and preservation of WGBH’s physical media and digital production and administrative assets. The MLA also offers production organization of archival materials from projects start up to shut down, research services, rights clearances, and licenses WGBH stock footage.
WGBH and the Library of Congress steward the American Archive of Public Broadcasting (AAPB), an initiative seeking to preserve and make accessible significant historical content created by public media. To date, we have digitized more than 40,000 hours of public television and radio content. The entire collection is available for research on location at WGBH and the Library of Congress, and more than 13,500 programs are available anywhere in the US in our Online Reading Room at americanarchive.org
Education
Undergraduate degree required. Coursework in Library and Information Science preferred.
Skills and Experience
- Archival research experience
- Excellent organizational skills
- Experience using Microsoft Excel
- Excellent communication skills
- Passion for public media
Compensation: $15/hour
To apply, please send a cover letter and resume in PDF to Casey Davis Kaufman at [email protected]. The position will remain open until filled.