Digital and Special Collections Specialist

Description

James Madison University (JMU) Libraries & Educational Technologies (L&ET) seeks a dynamic, creative and service-oriented colleague to provide support to the Special Collections and Digital Collections Departments in enhancing access to archival, digitized and born-digital materials. The Digital and Special Collections Specialist will work in the Carrier Library an average of 29 hours per week over the course of a calendar year, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. This is a part-time wage position with no benefits.

In the Special Collections unit, the successful candidate will assist in the accessioning, processing and description of archival collections for public access. This position will create blog posts and contribute to other social media platforms related to their work and research. This position will also assist in the review and testing of archival management systems.

In the Digital Collections unit, the successful candidate will assist in providing access to digital collections including digitization, editing and metadata creation. The position will provide support for born-digital content within JMU Scholarly Commons including reviewing content for copyright status and permissions. Additionally, this position will provide instruction on the JMU Scholarly Commons repository services, with an emphasis on SelectedWorks.

This position will report to both the Digital Collections Librarian and the Special Collections Librarian.

James Madison University is a public, comprehensive university of approximately 20,000 students located in the scenic Shenandoah Valley, two hours southwest of Washington, D.C. The university has been ranked by U.S. News and World Report as the top-rated public regional master's level university for seventeen consecutive years and is consistently named one of the nation's most wired universities. The Princeton Review Best Value Colleges has named the university one of the nation's 50 best value institutions for the past three years. The university places a strong emphasis on undergraduate research and offers 34 master's and 8 doctoral degrees.

The JMU Libraries are part of the Libraries and Educational Technologies division, which has the mission of enriching our communities by building learning and information environments where people connect with ideas and with each other to discover, create, and share knowledge.

We promote access, inclusion and diversity for all students, faculty, staff, constituents and programs, believing that these qualities are foundational components of an outstanding education in keeping with our mission. The university is interested in candidates whose experience and qualifications support an ongoing commitment to this core quality.
 
Duties and Responsibilities:  Entering and maintaining data related to incoming collections in various formats; organizing and rehousing physical collections; describing the archival material for online access through databases and collection guides; supporting the transition to new access technology and software through research and testing; digitizing rare and fragile materials in a variety of formats; describing digital objects according to established standards; perform quality control review of digitized materials; provide training on JMU Scholarly Commons and other repository services to faculty and staff and other duties as assigned.

JMU invites candidates from diverse backgrounds who will contribute affirmatively and creatively to the university's multicultural environment. Our goal is for our employees to reflect the rich mix of backgrounds, life experiences, cultures, perspectives and world views that is found within our university community. 

Qualifications: 

• Experience handling rare and fragile materials; experience processing physical archival collections; knowledge of digitization practices and standards for paper-based and photographic materials, including file formats for preservation and display and experience providing reference services, preferably in an archives or special collections setting.
• Experience with or significant knowledge of DACS, Dublin Core and EAD and experience with Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Acrobat Pro and Adobe Photoshop.
• Experience with social media including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. and ability to synthesize large amounts of information into concise posts for social media.
• Ability to work independently as well as within a team environment; excellent verbal and written skills and demonstrated research skills.
• Ability to lift 40 pounds.
• Ability to work in an environment which may include dust and mold allergens.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master of Library Science degree or equivalent.
• Knowledge of current cataloging practice; experience with or knowledge of archival management systems; experience with scanning equipment, including proprietary software and knowledge of current issues in online access to scholarly content including copyright and permissions.
• Experience giving public presentations and/or instructing small or large groups.