Description

Position Summary

Under the direction of the Head of Preservation and Digitization, the Digital Preservation Librarian develops, documents, implements and oversees preservation workflows, procedures and policies for Washington University Libraries' digital collections and assets, both digitized and born-digital. The incumbent will collaborate with stakeholders across the Libraries and campus to develop programmatic and sustainable policies and workflows to address digital curation and long-term digital preservation needs for the Libraries and related campus assets.

Job Description

Primary Duties & Responsibilities

• Develops, documents, implements and oversees preservation workflows, procedures and policies for Washington University Libraries' digital assets, both digitized and born-digital. These assets include, but are not limited to, images, audio-visual recordings, data sets, web archives, email archives, social media archives and 3D models. These policies include, but are not limited to, metadata standards, repository preservation standards, and storage standards.
• 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.

Working Conditions

• May be exposed to dust and mold.
• Must be able to travel to on and off campus locations.
• Occasional travel.

Requirements

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in library and information science, an advanced graduate degree in a relevant field, or equivalent combined amount of education and experience.
• Demonstrated knowledge of digital preservation standards and best practices.
• Familiarity 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.
• Experience with digital preservation systems and tools such as Archivematica, Preservica and Bagger/BagIt.
• Experience working effectively with and collaboratively with peers, donors, collectors and scholars.
• Demonstrated experience with implementation and use of digital tools, methods, and approaches utilized in digital preservation.
• Experience with digital asset management systems, file systems, object stores, and storage technologies.
• Excellent decision-making skills and the ability to work independently.
• Strong interpersonal skills with ability to work successfully in an intensely collaborative environment with a broad range of people from culturally diverse backgrounds including colleagues, administrators, students, faculty, donors, and alumni.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a collaborative team-based environment, and to communicate well with IT and non-IT staff.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Excellent organization skills and effectiveness in balancing multiple assignments and projects.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Experience in working with faculty and researchers to develop work plans for digital projects, including articulating workflows, obtaining resources, and setting objectives for digital projects.
• Demonstrated experience and familiarity with repository software and platforms (e.g., Islandora, Fedora Commons, Samvera, DSpace).
• 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 web design and web development.
• Familiarity with database design and management.
• Demonstrated ability to establish or refine operational workflows across multiple business units.
• Ability to learn new technologies and instruct others in their uses.

Required Qualifications

Bachelor's degree and two years of related experience or Master’s degree or an equivalent amount of relevant education and applicable work experience.