Scholarly Technologies Specialist

Description

W&L University Library seeks to fill a four-year grant-funded position to implement technologies that will promote the Library’s role as a center of campus-wide academic engagement as well as modernize and streamline traditional library operations and services. As a member of a small organization, this position requires teamwork, collaboration, and self-motivation. The library is deeply engaged in the university’s digital humanities initiatives and is committed to developing and expanding its participation in scholarly communications, digital research methodologies, digital archives, discovery tools, and other critical information services needed for teaching, learning, and research. We seek a fast learner with the aptitude and passion to thrive in the technologically complex learning and research environment that is the modern academic library.

Essential duties and related functions:

• Build, customize, implement, and/or distribute open source software for digital humanities projects;
• Demonstrate and further develop expertise in tools and techniques for data extraction, processing, and reporting;
• Improve the efficiency of library technologies by mastering software administration, identifying opportunities for integrating workflows, and implementing service-oriented solutions;
• Participate in the ongoing evaluation of emerging technologies;
• Customize themes in Omeka and WordPress;
• Prepare project documentation to support training and best practices;
• Foster partnerships with University IT Services to advance technology integration and development.

Minimum qualifications:

• MLS from an ALA-accredited program OR an advanced degree with extensive experience in digital humanities or digital research methods
• Demonstrated experience with at least one coding language (e.g., PHP, Javascript, Python, Ruby)
• Familiarity with source code management tools (Git, Subversion)
• Knowledge of database-driven web development (MySQL, PostgreSQL)
• Experience with front-end web design and development (HTML, CSS)
• Possess basic UNIX skills, i.e., comfort with command-line tools in Linux or Mac OS X.
• Understanding of web accessibility, open source software, and web development standards
• Ability and desire to communicate with both technical and non-technical audiences
• Awareness of issues and trends in higher education and scholarly communications
• Appreciation for the liberal arts