Digital Preservation Specialist

Description

Under the direction of the Head of Preservation, Digitization & Exhibitions in the Special Collections Division, the Digital Preservation Specialist develops and coordinates preservation workflows, procedures and policies for Washington University Libraries' digital collections and assets. The incumbent will work as part of the Special Collection Division and collaborate with stakeholders across the Libraries and campus community to develop programmatic and sustainable policies and workflows to address digital curation and long-term digital preservation needs.

Primary Duties & Responsibilities

• Develops, documents, implements and oversees preservation workflows, procedures and policies for Washington University Libraries' digital assets, both digitized and born-digital.
• Participates in the administration and development of the University Libraries' technology infrastructure for digital preservation, in collaboration with Library Technology Services, WUIT, and related campus units for technology services.
• Collaborates with Special Collections, Data Services, Digital Library and other key Libraries' staff to ensure creation and maintenance of University Libraries digital assets according to current preservation practices.
• Provides consultation services to Washington University faculty, students and staff to promote education on preserving digital material and retrieving information from legacy media formats.
• Participates as part of the professional community to stay up to date on new programs, standards, and developments within the rapidly-growing digital library field. This includes pursuing continuing education and certification to remain current with the community of practice for digital preservation, as well as being a leader within the broader fields of preservation and digital libraries. Shares these developments with the University Libraries' staff through periodic alerts, summaries, reports and revisions to policies and procedures. Participates in library-wide and university-wide activities, committees, special projects and programs, as assigned.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated knowledge of digital preservation standards and best practices.
• Demonstrated experience with implementation and use of digital tools, methods, and approaches utilized in digital preservation.
• Experience working effectively with and collaboratively with peers, donors, collectors and scholars.
• Experience with digital asset management systems, file systems, object stores, and storage technologies.
• Experience with digital preservation systems and tools such as Archivematica, Preservica, BitCurator, ePADD, and Archive-It.
• Experience with application and implementation of standards-based non-MARC metadata (e.g. Dublin Core, METS, PREMIS), and ability to investigate and learn new metadata standards as required.
• Demonstrated experience and familiarity with repository software and platforms (e.g., Islandora, Samvera, DSpace, Invenio)
• Demonstrated experience with project management, especially in managing multiple and simultaneous projects
• Familiarity with document processing tools and languages, such as JSON, XML and XSLT
• Familiarity with database design and management
• Demonstrated ability to establish or refine operational workflows across multiple business units