The Digital Collections Librarian will coordinate the development, curation, implementation, and assessment of digital collections, focusing on archival and special collections through active partnerships across multiple library departments and with campus and IU-wide partners. They will contribute to strategies, policies, procedures, best practices, processes, and system requirements that support long-term discovery, access, reuse, management, and preservation of digital collections by cultivating partnerships around discovering collections of distinction. With collection managers, the Digital Collections Librarian will seek and evaluate potential collections for digitization or processing (in the case of born-digital content), emphasizing highlighting underrepresented and otherwise hidden collections. This position reports to the Head of Digital Collections Services in the Library Technologies division of the IU Libraries.
The successful candidate will join a robust local community of librarians, archivists, collection managers, and information technology professionals active in building community and digital collections through digitization and born-digital acquisitions and building and managing digital repository environments to support these collections. They will work closely with an engaged group of archivists and collection managers from across Indiana University in direct support of the Digital Collections service that consists of back-end support for the management of digital, special collections, including cataloging and description of text and image-based collections, and front-end support for end-user discovery of these collections. They will also support the creation of digital exhibitions via Spotlight and Omeka platforms. In addition, the Digital Collections Librarian will have the opportunity to liaise with library departments, research centers/museums/other archives on campus and directly with faculty and students to support digital scholarship projects. They will also engage with national and international initiatives supported by Indiana University and Indiana University Libraries, including the Samvera (https://samvera.org/) and IIIF (https://iiif.io/) communities.
The Indiana University Libraries are committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce. We encourage all employees to fully incorporate their diverse backgrounds, skills, and life experiences into their work and towards fulfilling our mission.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Working closely with librarians and staff in Library Technologies and special collections units such as University Archives, as well as with University Information Technology Services and other library, campus, and university units, the Digital Collections Librarian will:
Manage services related to Digital Collections repository service, including onboarding and supporting collection managers to host repositories, identifying appropriate metadata schema for item-level description and/or identifying appropriate digitization/born-digital workflows, providing training support for collection managers, leading the IU-wide Digital Collections Working Group
Serve as Product Owner for Digital Collections (curation and discovery) and Product Owner for Spotlight (digital exhibitions)
Provide coverage for managing adjacent repository services like Archives Online
Facilitate accessibility and usability testing for end-user repository services
Coordinate and maintain system-wide Best Practices for archival and special collections description and digitization of archival and special collection materials with input from collection managers
Coordinate and maintain policies for digital collection development
Liaise and consult with librarians, collections managers, Bloomington campus research centers/archives/museums, IU-wide libraries and archives, and faculty and students in support of digital pedagogy/digital scholarship use of digital collections
Participate in the development of born-digital descriptive practices for end-user discovery
Participate in the development of digital preservation strategies for digital collections
Contribute to the IU Libraries’ participation in consortial and open-source efforts such as the Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA), HathiTrust Digital Library, IIIF, and Samvera
Engage in professional development opportunities–memberships, conferences, training, and certification–to stay current on new programs, standards, and developments in the field of digital libraries and, in turn, provide mentoring and leadership in the field of digital libraries.
Represent the university in matters concerning digital libraries/digital collections at the local, national, and international level
Promote the Libraries’ culture of diversity and inclusion, and support the values outlined in the IU Libraries’ Diversity Strategic Plan (https://libraries.indiana.edu/libraries-diversity-resources).
QUALIFICATIONS
Required:
ALA-accredited graduate degree in library or information science; candidates with an advanced degree in a relevant subject area and appropriate experience in an academic setting will also be considered.
Commitment to understanding and valuing diversity and the importance of inclusion as demonstrated through a commitment to apply and incorporate the differences, complexities, and opportunities that diversity brings to an organization
Demonstrated knowledge of digital library issues, strategies, standards, and best practices
Ability to coordinate digital library projects collegially and collaboratively among faculty, librarians, staff, and departmental staff, develop project plans, generate project documentation, specifications, workflows, and timelines for onboarding digital collections
Knowledge or awareness of metadata and content standards such as MARC, TEI, Dublin Core, MODS, METS, and EAD
Knowledge of digital objects in various formats (text, image, audio, and/or video) and best practices and standards associated with each format
Experience with descriptive practices employed for archival and special collections
Experience with multiple computer platforms, including Linux, Windows, and Mac
Familiarity with national and international digital library efforts
Experience with digital repository technologies
Ability to work independently as well as collegially in a complex, rapidly changing, and professionally diverse environment
Good interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to work effectively as part of a collaborative team
Excellent written and oral communication skills
Ability to meet the requirements of a tenure-track position at the IU Libraries (https://libraries.indiana.edu/file/promotion-and-tenure-criteria-iub-librarians-pdf)
Preferred:
Previous experience working in an academic library setting
Professional work experience in the field of digital libraries or digital repositories
Hands-on experience in the use of digital repository management systems in an enterprise-scale environment
Knowledge of and experience with traditional and agile project management methodologies
Experience with XML and XML-related technologies, including XSL Transformation
SALARY AND BENEFITS
Salary range is $60,000 – $75,000 per year; benefits include a university healthcare plan, a university-funded base retirement plan, a 100% university-paid group life insurance plan, and a generous paid time off plan. This tenure-track academic appointment includes eligibility for sabbatical leaves. For a complete list of benefit programs, please refer to the following resources:
Website: https://hr.iu.edu/benefits/neweeo/prof-index.html
Brochure: http://hr.iu.edu/pubs/books/IU-benefits_broch.pdf
TO APPLY
Review of applications will begin immediately. Applications received by July 28, 2023, will receive full consideration, but the search will remain open until filled. Interested candidates should review the application requirements and submit their application at https://indiana.peopleadmin.com. Questions regarding the position or application process can be directed to: Jennifer Chaffin, Director of Human Resources, Libraries Human Resources, Herman B Wells Library 201, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405 – Phone: 812-855-8196 – Fax: 812-855- 2576 – Email: libpers@indiana.edu. Expected start date: October 1, 2023, please note this date is flexible.
For more information about Indiana University Bloomington, go to https://www.indiana.edu/.