Curation Archivist

Description

The Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan invites applications from innovative and creative individuals with demonstrated technical skills for an open title position in the Curation department of the Library.

Position Focus:
This permanent position will play an essential role in the Librarys Curation operations and assist in the Librarys current initiatives to implement Archivematica, ArchivesSpace and AEON and revise existing ingest, processing, and descriptive workflows for all collection genres and formats. Moving forward, the archivist will monitor emerging trends and best practices and build capacity to (1) implement technologies appropriate to the Librarys needs and policy framework and (2) develop strategies and resources to preserve and provide access to new and/or complex data types. Additional duties will include the arrangement and description of digital and hybrid collections and curation of archived websites social media content and technologies.

Responsibilities*

• Support the Librarys move to Archivematica, ArchivesSpace, and AEON systems including system configuration and account configuration.
• Work with lead archivist for Description and Workflow Management and lead archivist for Curation to adapt current descriptive EAD practices; to migrate data from legacy systems to ArchivesSpace; and to integrate ArchivesSpace EAD with the University of Michigans finding aid access platform (DLXS).
• Help create new processes and documentation for digital archives ingest workflows with Archivematica.
• Develop procedures and documentation for the ingest and preservation of complex and/or new data types, including relational databases, content management systems, social media platforms, CAD files, digital artwork, etc.
• Support Librarys goal of efficient and integrated (analog and digital) curation activities.
• Process digital and hybrid collections using standard tools and archival appraisal.
• Troubleshoot workflow procedures; develop workarounds, including batch files or scripts, as needed.
• Monitor emerging trends and technologies related to digital archives.
• Research and implement emerging technologies (such as BitCurator and digital forensic tools) appropriate to the Librarys needs and policy framework. Research and price equipment purchases and assist in the installation of specialized software as needed.
• Actively represent the Bentley Historical Library in discussions with peer institutions and among national and regional professional organizations.
• Manage and develop relational databases (including Filemaker and MYSQL); migrate data from legacy databases as needed to improve data collection and overall efficiency of operations.

Required Qualifications*

• Mastery of core archival concepts (provenance, original order, etc.) and functions (appraisal, arrangement, description, etc.).
• Expert knowledge of current and emerging trends, tools, and best practices in digital archives (including OAIS standards and principles of Trustworthy Digital Repositories).
• Familiarity with issues and considerations related to the creation and preservation of born-digital and digitized archives in various formats.
• Practical understanding of important features and functionality for digital collection interfaces as they relate to users needs and requirements.
• In-depth knowledge of descriptive and metadata standards such as EAD, DACS, MARC21, METS, and PREMIS; experience creating, reviewing and editing metadata for digital objects.
• Awareness of legal and ethical issues affecting privacy, records restrictions, and access as they pertain to born-digital and digitized materials.
• Proven capacity to acquire new skills and to synthesize and act upon complex technical information and developments.
• Demonstrated technical expertise, including practical knowledge of HTML, XML, and XSLT, Windows and Linux shell languages, and programming languages such as Python, Perl, PHP, etc.
• Demonstrated knowledge of relational database design (Filemaker and MySQL).
• Ability to juggle multiple competing priorities, manage time efficiently, and achieve goals.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills and the ability to work collegially in a dynamic environment.

Required Education and Experience:

• ALA-accredited Masters degree in library or information studies, plus a minimum of 2 years of experience with digital resources in archival collections.

Additional Information
About the Bentley Historical Library:
The Bentley Historical Library was established in 1935 by the University of Michigan Regents to carry out two functions: to serve as the official archives of the University and to document the history of the state of Michigan and the activities of its people, organizations and voluntary associations.

Some six decades after its founding, the library has amassed extensive holdings on the history of the state and the university, including more than 30,000 linear feet of archives and manuscripts, 57,000 printed volumes, 1.5 million photographs and other visual materials, over 10,000 maps, and nearly 20 terabytes of digital content. The librarys holdings are consulted by Michigans citizens, the universitys students, faculty, staff, alumni and administrators, scholars from across the nation and around the world, and others interested in the history of the state and the university.

The Curation department of the Library is responsible for managing digital and analog material, arrangement, description and processing; digitization of materials; the harvest and ingest of web archives and other social media; the management of the archival community of collections in the Universitys institutional repository; and other digital initiatives including the implementation of AEON, ArchivesSpace and Archivematica.

Resources:
Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan (www.bentley.umich.edu)

Sample of published materials from the Curation department:
Campus Case Studies see several case studies written by Bentley archivists at: www2.archivists.org/.../Campus-Case-Studies
Including Will They Populate the Boxes Piloting a Low-Tech Method for Capturing Executive E-mail and a workflow for preserving it at the University of Michigan, Aprille Cooke McKay, files.archivists.org...es/CASE-15-FINAL.pdf


Benefits, Rank and Salary:
The successful candidate will receive 24 days of vacation a year; 15 days of sick leave a year with provisions of extended benefits as well as opportunities for professional development and travel. TIAA-CREF and Fidelity Investments retirement options available. Further information regarding benefits can be found at benefits.umich.edu/b...tgroups/faculty.html