Science & Research OPT Jobs in West Virginia

INTRODUCTION

The Digitization Archivist leads the West Virginia and Regional History Center’s program for digitizing, managing, and providing access to digitized collection materials to meet the needs of researchers and students through responsible collection stewardship and increased access to digital special collections. The Digitization Archivist prioritizes, conducts, and oversees digitization of analog and audiovisual materials; establishes and maintains imaging, format, and descriptive metadata standards; creates and ingests digital objects into the appropriate repositories, ensuring accessibility and discoverability. As the primary point of contact for the digitization lab, the Digitization Archivist manages equipment and resources for digitization.

This position reports to and is supervised by the Head of Collections Management and Processing of the West Virginia and Regional History Center. This position may supervise staff, graduate assistants, student workers or interns.

SPECIFIC DUTIES:

• Leads the digitization strategy for the WVRHC in coordination with the WVRHC director, Head of Collections Management and Processing, and other stakeholders.
• Identifies and prioritizes materials for digitization based on collection needs, patron requests, institutional priorities, and applicable standards.
• Conducts and oversees digitization of analog and audiovisual materials in accordance with FADGI and other relevant imaging, audiovisual, format, preservation, and accessibility standards.
• Conducts copyright, privacy, and other rights assessments to determine appropriate levels of access for digitized materials.
• Plans, manages, and documents digitization projects from selection and preparation through quality control, metadata creation, repository ingest, and publication.
• Manages relationships and projects with external digitization vendors, including specifications, workflows, deliverables, and quality control.
• Establishes and maintains descriptive metadata standards and practices for digital collections in alignment with library standards and controlled vocabularies, including Dublin Core, LCNAF, and LCSH.
• Creates, enhances, remediates, and transforms descriptive metadata to support discovery, interoperability, accessibility, and long-term management of digital collections.
• Conducts quality control of internally and externally digitized materials and associated metadata, identifying and resolving technical, descriptive, and accessibility issues.
• Prepares digital objects and associated metadata for ingest into the Hyku repository and other designated digital storage or access systems. Coordinates with Head of Processing to ensure digital content is represented in ArchivesSpace as needed.
• Ingests and publishes digital objects in Hyku; supports, uploads, and troubleshoots digital files and metadata in collaboration with the Digital Preservation Archivist and Digital Collections and Systems Librarian.
• Supports digital collections maintenance in Hyku, including reformatting, updating metadata, and reingesting content, as needed.
• Develops, documents, and maintains digitization, metadata, repository, and digital collection workflows in coordination with the Digital Preservation Archivist and Digital Collections and Systems Librarian.
• Manages and contributes to grant-funded digitization and digital collections projects, including project planning, implementation, documentation, and reporting.
• Serves as the primary point of contact for the digitization lab and coordinates maintenance, troubleshooting, and lifecycle management of digitization equipment and related systems in collaboration with the Systems Department.
• Trains and directs staff, students, and interns working with digitized collections; reviews work products for quality, accuracy, consistency, and adherence to established standards and procedures.
• Provides specialized information services related to digital archives, including limited instruction, reference, and research consultation for students, faculty, and community researchers in coordination with the Instruction Archivist and public services staff. As needed, conducts outreach and coordinates digitization and digital collections initiatives with campus units, community partners, and other stakeholders.
• Maintains and reports accurate statistics, documentation, and project records related to digitization and digitized collections.

Service

• Serves and actively contributes to relevant committees, task forces, and working groups at the Library, University, regional, and/or national level.

Research and/or Professional Development

• Engages in professional development/research related to the individual’s assignment and/or the needs of the Libraries and the University.

PERFORMANCE STANDARDS:

• Evaluation is based on West Virginia University Libraries: Criteria for Library Faculty Appointment, Retention, Promotion, and Merit, the current Position Description, and the Assignment Document for the year under review.

Salary: Salary range commensurate with experience and faculty rank, salary for Assistant appointment starts at $61,000. Rank is determined by years served in a professional librarian capacity.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree from an ALA-accredited program for library and information sciences (or equivalent).
• At least one (1) year of experience working with digital materials in archives or libraries.
• Experience in digitization and digital archives management practices, technologies, and tools.
• Experience with digital projects management.
• Working knowledge of standards related to digital records, digital objects, and metadata and knowledge of various digital content formats and standards.
• Knowledge of national standards and best practices for the description of archival materials (DACS, EAD), authority control, and other data content and structure standards relevant to archival control.
• A high degree of technical facility, openness to investigating emerging technologies, and the demonstrated ability to learn new technical skills through research and self-study.
• Demonstrated ability to take initiative and meet goals.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
• Cultural competency and interest in participating in discussions and initiatives that reflect the WVRHC’s commitment to expanding and supporting a diverse historical record.

West Virginia University is a place of purpose and community. We take pride in our profound impact on the state of West Virginia and are committed to the personal and professional growth of our employees.

From the groundbreaking R1 research at our flagship campus in Morgantown to the career-oriented programs at WVU Potomac State in Keyser, and the technology-intensive programs at WVU Tech in Beckley, the contributions of WVU employees resonate across the state, touching lives and shaping futures.

At WVU, you will discover a supportive community that champions work-life balance and fosters a collaborative atmosphere. Our core values — service, curiosity, respect, accountability and appreciation — unite us as Mountaineers.

Join us at West Virginia University, where your work will make a lasting impact. To learn more about WVU, visit wvu.edu.

West Virginia University is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We invite all qualified applicants regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, or Veteran status.