Digital Archivist (Assistant or Associate Librarian)

Description

The Baylor University Libraries are accepting applications from individuals excited to contribute to the development of a digital archival program. This position is part of the Digitization and Digital Collection Preservation Services (DDCPS) unit within the Library Collections, Systems, and Digital Services (LCSDS) department. The Digital Archivist position reports directly to the Director of DDCPS, with a minimum starting salary of $60,000 and more commensurate with experience.

The Digital Archivist, in collaboration with digitization personnel, archivists, the metadata librarian, and others, will manage the complexities associated with the migration, transformation, and preservation of born-digital and digitized content. This role includes working with documents and multimedia content from donated collections, university records, and the Baylor Libraries’ special collections and archives.

Required Job Qualifications:

• ALA-accredited master’s degree in library or information science required at the time of hire; OR master’s degree (or other advanced degree) in a related field at the time of hire and work experience (1-2 years, full or parttime) in a library or archives setting.
• Experience working with digital assets.
• Demonstrated knowledge of or experience with digital stewardship issues, tools, standards, and/or best practices.
• Familiarity with preservation metadata standards relevant to archival collections (e.g., PREMIS, EAD, etc.)
• Experience with multiple operating systems (e.g., MacOS, Windows, Linux/UNIX, etc.)
• Experience with archival technologies and tools related to appraising, accessioning, processing, preserving, and enabling access to born-digital archives (e.g. Archive-It, BitCurator, CheckSum Tools, DuraCloud, ePADD, ImageMagick, JHOVE2, etc.)
• Demonstrated ability to set priorities and meet deadlines.
• Demonstrated problem solving abilities.
• Effective communication skills, with the ability to interact successfully with diverse personalities and perspectives.
• Motivated to learn emerging and evolving technologies on a continual basis.
• Strong commitment to serving constituents and the larger community.

Desired Job Qualifications:

• Experience working with digital repositories (e.g., ArchivesSpace, CONTENTdm, dSPACE, Quartex, etc.)
• Certified Archivist designation.
• Digital Archives Specialist (DAS) certificate from the Society of American Archivists.
• Experience working with digital assets in an archival setting.
• Experience with basic scripting languages (e.g. Python, Shell, PERL, etc.)
• Experience working with the development of a digital archival program.
• Experience handling multiple complex projects simultaneously.
• Familiarity with legal and ethical considerations for digitized and born-digital access.
• Demonstrated ability to create solutions for problems, negotiate difficult situations, and maintain a productive harmonious work environment.
• Ability to embrace ambiguity in a changing environment and be committed to continual professional development, improvement and learning.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Archive and preserve born-digital Baylor University materials, ensuring that complex digital data can be rendered, is discoverable, and is accessible in perpetuity.
• Develop and implement processes for archiving current and legacy born-digital and digitized materials including digital documents, digital images, digital audio/visual files, email, websites, and social media as appropriate.
• Migrate, process, and archive data from legacy media such as floppy disks, tape, hard drives, optical discs, and mobile devices according to standards.
• Manage the acquisition of born-digital materials, appraising, accessioning, and processing them according to digital preservation guidelines.
• Establish and maintain workstations dedicated to the analysis and processing of incoming digital archival materials, equipping them with specialized software and hardware to process and manage various file formats, administrative metadata extraction, quality assessment, file conversions, and digital preservation tasks.
• Manage digital preservation files on workstations and preservation server.
• Advise and consult with Baylor library archivists on born-digital record-keeping and data management, facilitate ingestion of records into the digital preservation server or other offline media according to preservation guidelines.
• Create finding aids for digital archives in cooperation with Baylor library archivists.
• Develop and maintain policies, procedures, and standards relating to digitization, digital asset management, and digital preservation.
• Maintain currency with emerging technologies, on-going technologies, standards, and best practices in digital archiving and apply this knowledge to ensure the long-term accessibility of the university's digital archives and collections.

This is a full-time, 12-month, on-site, academic-professional position with benefits and faculty status. Minimum salary will be $60,000 and increase commensurate with experience.

To learn more about the above position, the university library, and Baylor University, please visit the appropriate URL: https://apply.interfolio.com/158040. Review of applicants will begin on December 20 and will continue until the position is filled. Nothing received after January 31 can be considered.

About the Baylor University Libraries

The Baylor University Libraries consist of the Moody and Jones Libraries; Armstrong Browning Library; Arts & Special Collections Research Center; Institute for Oral History; Keston Center for Religion, Politics, and Society; Learning Technologies; W. R. Poage Legislative Library; and Texas Collection with over 2.5 million volumes, significant holdings in e-journals, e-books, databases, and other digital content (https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/institution-profile/223232#academic-libraries).

About Baylor University

With a main campus located in Waco, Texas, Baylor University is the oldest college in Texas. With a population of approximately 21,000 diverse students, Baylor is one of the top universities in the nation, having been named an R1 institution by the Carnegie Classification in January 2022. Baylor is also on the honor roll of the "Great Colleges to Work For" from The Chronicle of Higher Education; Baylor offers competitive salaries and benefits while allowing faculty and staff to live in one of the fastest-growing parts of the state. Our strategic plan, Baylor In Deeds, guides the University as we continue to live up to Baylor's mission of educating men and women for worldwide leadership and service by integrating academic excellence and Christian commitment within a caring community.

Waco, Texas is located conveniently along the I-35 corridor in the heart of central Texas. The Waco metropolitan area is home to approximately 305,000 residents. Combining smaller city living with opportunities of large cities nearby (only 1.5 hours from Austin and Dallas-Ft Worth), Waco offers beautiful scenery, a diverse population, and lower cost of living than the national average. More information about the Waco area can be found here: www.waco-texas.com/About-Waco.