Digital Initiatives Librarian

Description

 
The Digital Initiatives Librarian provides expertise in creating and managing library digital collections, such as digital special collections, electronic theses and dissertations, and other born-digital or retrospectively digitized materials. The Digital Initiatives Librarian participates in the planning, implementation, maintenance, expansion, communication and promotion of digital library and institutional repository services, collections and content. The Digital Initiatives Librarian will serve as a member of the Digital, Access, and Technology Services Department's leadership team and, in coordination with the department head, will be responsible for developing a strategy for the current and future library's digital initiatives. He/she works closely with the other units of the library to determine how digital assets should be leveraged for both scholarly and popular audiences.
Reporting to the head of digital, access, and technology services, this is a 12-month, tenure-track position with an anticipated initial appointment at the rank of assistant professor. Salary is commensurate with qualifications, with a minimum salary of $50,000. Responsibilities include:

• Manages the daily operation of the Digital Initiatives unit, consisting of 1.5 FTE technical processing staff and student assistants.
• In collaboration with the DATS department head, the head of special collections, and other library faculty and staff, identifies potential collections for digitization and seeks out potential grant sources to facilitate funding of projects.
• Collaborates with the library's systems unit in the management of CONTENTdm, the library's hosted digital collections platform.
• Participates in the development of NC-DOCKS, the university's shared institutional repository, including collection development strategy, policy development, outreach, technical workflows, digital conversion, and management and archiving of research datasets.
• Works closely with the metadata librarian and cataloging unit staff to establish consistent descriptive metadata for digitized collections.
• Collaborates with the library’s Web developer to develop and maintain digital collections Websites. Serves as a member of the library's Web Steering and Digital Collections Steering Committees.
• Keeps current with trends in digital library technologies, digital curation practices, preservation formats and standards, and scholarly communication.
• Demonstrates and facilitates effective communication throughout the Library and across the University with the various colleges, departments, and faculty. 

The University

Western Carolina University (WCU) is one of the 17 senior institutions of the University of North Carolina (UNC) system.  It is a dynamic, regional comprehensive university with more than 10,000 students and is dedicated to continuous enhancement of its academic programs and integrating engaged learning with service to the region. WCU focuses on academic quality through its Quality Enhancement Plan and through its commitment to integrated learning and the scholarship of engagement. The university has implemented the Ernest Boyer model of scholarship and is committed to its stewardship of place role in serving western North Carolina.  Located in Cullowhee, NC, WCU is situated in a beautiful valley nestled between the Great Smoky and Blue Ridge Mountains, 52 miles west of Asheville and near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, one of the nation’s most spectacular and most visited national parks. While in a small town setting, the university is only three hours from the vibrant urban centers of Atlanta and Charlotte.

The Library

Hunter Library has a long, respected record of providing excellent service to the university and region. The library is dedicated to the thoughtful integration of print and digital resources and to supporting and developing the general, information, digital, graphic, and visual literacy of students and the teaching and research needs of faculty and staff. The library has 20 tenure- track faculty members, 29 staff members, and an annual budget of over $4 million.  The library offers approximately 2.6 million items of intellectual content, including print and electronic titles and volumes, and provides access to more than 45,000 journals through print subscriptions and electronic databases. The library is an active partner in the Western North Carolina Library Network, NC DOCKS, and the Carolina Consortium. 

Required Qualifications:

Masters degree in library and/or information science from an ALA-accredited program. Must have a demonstrated understanding of the application of technology as it relates to scholarship and teaching; two years of direct experience with digital initiatives (digitization projects, digital content management systems and/or Web-based delivery of digital objects); experience with archives and archival practices; experience with digital image and text creation (scanning); experience with digital asset management platforms or extensible services such as DSpace, DigiTool, CONTENTdm, etc.; experience with digital image file formats, conversion and software such as Adobe CS; knowledge of audio and visual applications in the virtual environment.

Preferred Qualifications:

Supervisory experience; experience with grant writing and applications, knowledge of copyright and licensing issues affecting digitization efforts; experience with digital project management; experience with scholarly communication initiatives in the digital humanities or related areas; experience with Open Source journal publishing platforms such as OJS; experience with Web programming languages such as Perl or Java; experience in using metadata standards such as Dublin Core, EAD, or METS.  

To apply, access our online employment system at:  https://jobs.wcu.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=53291.  You will be required to attach a letter of application, resume and names and telephone numbers of three references. For more information, contact Margaret Watson at 828-227-2325 or watsonm@email.wcu.edu.

Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled.

WCU is an Affirmative Action / Equal Opportunity Employer committed to increasing the diversity of its faculty, staff, and students and to strengthening sensitivity to diversity throughout the institution (http://www.wcu.edu/28762.asp). Final candidates for employment will be subject to criminal background checks. Proper documentation of identity and employability are required at the time of employment. All new employees are required to provide official transcripts within 30 days of employment. Degrees must have been awarded by a regionally accredited U.S. college or university.