Tag Archives: metadata

Job Opportunity: Metadata Specialist II – NY Public Library: Long Island City, NY

Posting Website

Overview
Located within the New York Public Library’s Digital Research Division, the Metadata Services Unit (MSU) improves access and discovery of library resources through Digital Collections and strengthens data interoperability across the library through metadata production services, software development support, and metadata strategy. Our team supports and engages staff in efficient metadata creation for digitization, offering development and documentation of local standards and practices, project consultation, quality control, staff training, and works to raise awareness and connect stakeholders across NYPL concerning metadata. The MSU also supports the improvement and maintenance of our Metadata Management System (MMS) and online Digital Collections through data modeling, data mapping and enrichment, record assessment and cleanup, and staff user services. MSU seeks candidates enthusiastic about metadata and the future of libraries for the position of Metadata Specialist II. The Metadata Specialist II balances high productivity and high quality output to wrangle metadata across a corpus of more than a million metadata records. Strong interpersonal and written skills are key to supporting quality metadata creation and remediation across NYPL research library divisions and within a cooperative team environment. This role is a perfect opportunity for a proactive, reliably thoughtful individual with the ability to quickly synthesize complex information, invested in team cohesion and metadata futures.

This role is eligible for a performance based upgrade in salary to $60,574 after one year of successful performance.
Key Responsibilities
Reporting to the Manager, Metadata Services, the Metadata Specialist II will:

  • Create, update, and enhance metadata for the Library’s digital collections
  • Liaise with metadata creators across NYPL divisions to support metadata project planning, training, guidance on standards, and the efficient creation/maintenance of high-quality metadata, specifically metadata related to Divisions with the Library of Performing Arts
  • Contribute to local metadata policies, procedures, and standards as well as technical requirements for NYPL’s Metadata Management System, digital repository, and other tools
  • Participate in large-scale and targeted remediation and enhancement projects to improve discovery and access to digital content
  • Keep up with current standards, trends, and technologies in the field

Required Education, Experience & Skills

Required Education & Experience

  • ALA-accredited Master’s Degree in Library or Information Science
  • Two years relevant work experience

Required Skills

  • Strong interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills
  • Ability to work well collaboratively and independently on complex projects involving diverse participants, using informed judgment and clear communication to successfully complete tasks in a timely manner
  • Demonstrated organizational, analytical, and independent problem-solving skills, with the ability to process a large quantity of work while maintaining a consistently high degree of accuracy
  • Facility with rapidly synthesizing new information and new workflows
  • Aptitude for being organized, productive and effective while involved with a variety of simultaneous projects
  • Demonstrated knowledge of data and database structures, metadata standards, and encoding schemas, including MARC21, MODS, and EAD
  • Experience interpreting and applying descriptive content standards (such as RDA, DACS, CCO, etc.) in a non-MARC metadata environment
  • Basic understanding of Linked Data concepts and technologies

Preferred Qualifications

  • Familiarity with scripting and querying languages such as Python, SQL, etc.
  • Experience working with special collections or academic libraries
  • Experience building positive and productive interdepartmental or interdisciplinary relationships
  • Coursework in dance, music, or theater
  • Experience working with library collections related to dance, music, or theater

Please Note: Effective August 2, 2021, absent a qualifying exception for medical or religious reasons, newly hired employees of the New York Public Library must present proof of receipt of a COVID-19 vaccination and may not begin employment at the Library until 14 days after their receipt of their second dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or 14 days after their first dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.  Newly hired employees who need additional time to receive their vaccination prior to their start date may request an adjournment of their start date with their hiring manager.  The Library will consider such requests on a case by case basis, depending upon the Library’s operational needs, among other factors.  The Library will further consider exemptions for prospective employees who cannot become vaccinated due to a qualifying medical condition or a sincerely held religious belief or practice.  Candidates who receive a conditional offer of employment and who seek a medical or religious exemption to the Library’s vaccination policy will be provided with additional instructions at the time of the conditional offer.

Core Values
All team members are expected and encouraged to embody the NYPL Core Values:

  • Be Helpful to patrons and colleagues
  • Be Resourceful in solving problems 
  • Be Curious in all aspects of your work
  • Be Welcoming and Inclusive

Physical Duties

  • May require travel within NYC

Physical Required?
No

Union/Non Union
Local 1930

FLSA Status
Non-Exempt

Schedule

  • Regular hours: 9am-5pm – Overall hours: 35 hours per week

The World of Metadata: An Expedition

By Becky Teague

In August of 2020, I began working as a graduate research assistant on a digital humanities initiative titled Global Makers: Women Artists in the Early Modern Courts. Together with the two principal creators of the project (both art historians at the same university from which I received my master’s, one being my previous advisor), I embarked on a journey into the unknown world (to me!) of metadata schemas, digital mapping, and controlled vocabularies. 

The photo above is a screenshot of the upper portion of our homepage.

The art-historical aspect of the project was familiar – researching little-known women artists who contributed to the production of visual and material culture in the courts of Europe and Asia from c. 1400-1750. As a recent graduate of an MA program, I was comfortable with research. I knew how to scour archives, libraries, and universities’ digital resources for information. I often spent countless days holed up in research rooms surrounded by open books and stacks of old journal issues, immersed in a world five hundred years before my own. However, as a first-year MLIS student trying to translate those worlds into easily understandable visualizations, I felt out of my depth. 

We first began the project by creating our database, the primary storehouse of information on our women artists. Using the Omeka-S platform, we collaborated with the university’s DH Librarian and IT Specialist to choose some initial metadata sets we thought would work best for categorizing our artists, their patrons, and their artworks. With our schemas chosen, I set to work on populating the database with information – artist’s names, pseudonyms, collaborators, locations active, dates active, artwork formats, artwork mediums, courts involved, etcetera, etcetera. 

The photo above is a screenshot of the back end of our database on Omeka-S, specifically the metadata for Lavinia Fontana.

“This isn’t so bad at all,” I thought, “why was I ever worried about this in the first place?” 

Once we had around fifty items added, the team and I decided to open the site up to its first public users – a select few colleagues in the field who might have one or two artists to contribute. 

Prior to our request for outside participation, however, our contribution forms started giving trouble, erasing the alternate text prompts and simply displayed the metadata sets and each prompt’s corresponding element. So, for example, instead of seeing the prompt “Title Awarded at Court?” among the list of questions proffered, visitors saw the less-than-helpful ‘foaf:geekcode.’ Before we knew it, the site was having a host of issues in terms of data storage, reconciliation, and retrieval. Our Value Suggest module refused to fully integrate with the forward-facing contribution forms; the resource templates were not aligning with the collecting forms, leading to a loss of information when a template was chosen for an item; and only a fraction of the rich content available through the Getty Vocabularies (particularly the Thesaurus of Geographic Names, or TGN, and Union List of Artist Names, or ULAN – both useful for regularizing data) would upload to the site. “This was what I was worried about,” I remember thinking, “We don’t know enough about site development for this.”  

For nearly a year, the principal creators of the project and I fretted over the state of our project, frantically attending online Omeka-S workshops, organizing guest lectures from Getty representatives, and setting meetings with librarians and other specialists. We correspondingly kept pushing the opportunity to share our new site, even with our closest colleagues in art history. We felt self-conscious of its limitations, of our own incompetence and lack of knowledge. Who were we kidding to think that three art historians (one of whom, myself, was also a fresh LIS student) could create a complex, open-access database of early modern women replete with dynamic visualizations? Who did we think we were?

It wasn’t until Phase II of the site’s expansion focusing on visualization development began, just two months ago in early June, that we started realizing perhaps we weren’t quite as helpless as we thought. Our computer science research assistant, a Ph.D. student concentrating on information-centric networking, joined the team. We met with him several times, explaining our project goals, the current state of the database (which was clearly less than ideal), and the hopes we had for visualization functionality. He seemed impressed with the number of technical issues we had already overcome and was constantly more optimistic about the site and its potential than we had ever been. Within a month, he even had a fully functioning visualization program operating based on the information stored in our database. “Your database isn’t as broken as you think it is,” he told us, “I can still make it operate just fine, it’s the little things that need honing. You’ve only been working on this for a year!” 

The photo above is the data visualization I mentioned was part of the goal of Phase II — created by our computer science Ph.D. student. You can begin to see how the site is starting to show relationships between artists, their patrons, and the works of art they create/commission.

Now, as we prepare for a series of conferences on our DH project this fall, the team and I still have problems to fix. There are still bugs in the collecting module and Value Suggest options that do not work. But I think we’ve learned how to find comfort in the ambiguity, in the difficult space of “I don’t know.” In academia, we tend to learn our craft and how our field operates and then stick to that vein of knowledge, moving around in tiny circles of familiarity where we feel safe, competent, and knowledgeable; a place mostly free from that terrifying f-word – ‘failure.’ But that’s not where true growth occurs. We have to push ourselves to expand our interests into new territories, not feel incompetent and naïve for stepping outside our fields. After all, is that not what academia is, at its core? A dedication to continued learning and research?

As I begin formulating my conference papers for the next few months, then, I find myself wanting to talk more about this general hesitation to expand the bounds of our research rather than the technical developments of the Global Makers project. I want to tell fellow graduate students (and faculty!) that it is okay to be wrong, to ask “dumb” questions, to dare to explore a new field and its potential relevance to your own. That type of relentless and boundless curiosity is something academia (and the world) needs more of, and I fully believe the ones who pursue it are our best hopes for the future. Interdisciplinarity is the future. 

Don’t be afraid of asking questions, be afraid of never asking at all.

Becky Teague is an art history instructor at Shelton State Community College, a Graduate Research Assistant to the Global Makers project, and an MLIS graduate student at the University of Alabama.

She loves spending her free time traveling, painting, and reading. 

Note: Experiences, thoughts, and feelings shared on the ArLiSNAP blog are solely those of the featured author(s) and interviewees and do not represent the views of any employer.

Internship Opportunity: Digital Metadata Intern (stipend available), Girl Scouts of the USA, NYC

Description

The Girl Scouts of the USA Collection spans centuries, genres, and styles, and includes corporate records, personal writings, ephemera, media, scrapbooks, fine and decorative arts, farm and camp equipment, furnishings, textiles, sculpture, jewelry, silver, international gifts, product and memorabilia, awards and recognitions, and Girl Scout uniforms, badges, and insignia. The Collection is cataloged in the content management system, Collective Access. A public front-end site is currently being developed and will be launched in fall 2017. The new site is the next step in ensuring the modernization of public access to the Collection and in leveraging it in support of GSUSA’s vision and mission. In anticipation of the public website, the Digital Metadata Intern, supervised by the Senior Collections Manager, will prepare and edit existing metadata of historical and cultural collections, most notably the Photograph Collection and Publications Collection, in the back-end site of Collective Access. The Intern will utilize user-centered perspectives and search methods to ensure accessibility, retrieval, and use. The Intern will also prepare legacy metadata for large imports into Collective Access.

The intern will be provided a workstation at the Girl Scouts of the USA Headquarters at 420, Fifth Avenue.

Minimum of 3 days a week required, 4-5 days preferred. Days and hours of work are Monday – Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. A stipend of $1000 is available.

Responsibilities

• Apply technical and descriptive skills, as well as user-centered perspectives, interests, and search methods, to edit existing metadata in Collective Access in accordance with professional best practices and standards. • Assign proper titles, descriptions, captions, and other access points to digitized photograph collection; assign relevant subjects headings using Library of Congress Subject headings. Ensure copyright and ownership information, as well as other pertinent information on the back of the photograph is captured in the catalog record. • Perform batch edits to assign Library of Congress Subject headings to Publications. • Prepare legacy data and finding aids in various formats for import into Collective Access.

Qualifications

• Student enrolled in Graduate Library Science, Information Science, or Archives program. • Knowledge of metadata processing and description standards and best practices. • Experience cataloging in a digital content management system or OPAC, preferably Collective Access. • Demonstrated knowledge of handling archival and cultural collections, particularly photographs. • Ability to work in a fast-moving and flexible team environment. • Excellent written and verbal communication skills. • Proficiency in working with MS Office, particularly Excel.

Compensation

$1000 stipend.

Location

New York, NY

To Apply

email resume and cover letter to drusso@girlscouts.org

Company Information

Girl Scouts of the USA, 420 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10018

Contact Information

drusso@girlscouts.org

 

LINK: http://metro.org/jobs/DIGITAL-METADATA-INTERNSHIP-GIRL-SCOUTS-OF-THE-USA

SEI 2017 Instructor of the Week: Justin Schell

We’re thrilled to introduce the amazing instructors for this year’s Summer Educational Institute, many of whom are joining us for the first time! We’ll be highlighting one instructor from the 2017 curriculum each week, so be sure to stay tuned.

We’re happy to introduce Justin Schell, Learning Design Specialist, University of Michigan Library. Justin will be leading the workshop, Getting a Digital Humanities Project Started, and co-leading Let’s Get Practical: How did they do that? Reverse Engineering DH Projects.

Getting a Digital Humanities Project Started will help you structure DH Projects, from the goals and outcomes, to the tools, techniques, metadata, and project management objectives. The hands-on component, Let’s Get Practical: How did they do that? Reverse Engineering DH Projects will provide time to apply skills and strategies to projects and collections. Come with questions, leave with answers!

justin2.jpg

Justin Schell

Did you know?

Justin Schell is a filmmaker, writer, and director of the Shapiro Design Lab for the University of Michigan Library. He holds a PhD in Comparative Studies in Discourse and Society from the University of Minnesota, where he completed an online and multimodal dissertation. In addition, he helped found the Minnesota Hip-Hop Archive as part of the University of Minnesota Libraries.

As a documentary filmmaker, he has completed a number of short and feature-length films, including We Rock Long Distance, which weaves together the sounds and stories of three Twin Cities hip-hop artists (M.anifest, Maria Isa, and Tou SaiKo Lee) as they journey home to Ghana, Puerto Rico, and Thailand to create unexpected collaborations across generation and geography. More of his video work has been shown in the Walker Art Center, Twin Cities Public Television, online at the Huffington Post and the Progressive, and screened in the Twin Cities Film Fest, Twin Cities Underground Film Festival, and the Qhia Dab Neeg Hmong Film Festival. He regularly teaches courses on documentary production, interviewing, and editing.

Register for SEI to benefit from his knowledge directly!

Read all about SEI at http://seiworkshop.org where you can find our Statement of Inclusivity, info about registering, accommodations, curriculum and much more.

In its 14th year as a joint program between the  Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA) and the Visual Resources Association Foundation (VRAF), SEI 2107 will be held at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, from June 6-9, 2017.

SEI provides both new and more experienced professionals the opportunity to stay current in the rapidly changing fields of digitization, project management, fair use and copyright, metadata, and digital asset management, as well as significant networking opportunities. As a 2015 SEI graduate noted, “The curriculum was excellent in scope, striking a balance between detailed, practical exploration of relevant skills & tools, and putting these in the context of broader issues in visual resources/arts librarianship.”

SEI 2017 is filling up. Register soon!

Contact the SEI co-chairs Jesse Henderson or Nicole Finzer with any questions and Follow us on Facebook

See you in North Carolina!

SEI 2017 Instructor of the Week: Greta Bahnemann

 We’re thrilled to introduce the amazing instructors for this year’s Summer Educational Institute, many of whom are joining us for the first time! We’ll be highlighting one instructor from the 2017 curriculum each week, so be sure to stay tuned.

We’re happy to introduce Greta Bahnemann, Metadata Librarian for the Minnesota Digital Library, a position she has held since 2010. Greta will be leading the Metadata for Cultural Heritage Materials workshop.Plan for the variety of original materials in a digital project, and their associated multimedia digital formats. This session will delve into creating and managing technical, descriptive and administrative metadata, selecting appropriate metadata schemas, crosswalking, and metadata cleanup. Come with questions, leave with answers!

greta.jpeg

Greta Bahnemann

Did you know?

The Minnesota Digital Library’s contributors include libraries, historical societies, museums, and archives, and also provides education and training opportunities concerning digitization best practices, metadata for digital collections, and digital preservation! Minnesota Reflections is the initial project of the MDL, begun in 2003, and now includes digital content from more than 186participating organizations from across the state. Collaborative digitization has included over 280,000 items, including photographs, postcards, maps, documents, letters, and oral histories. These materials are available online in a free searchable database.

Greta is responsible for implementing current metadata standards and best practices forMinnesota Reflections, and has spearheaded a number of innovative projects with the Minnesota Digital Library, including integration as a service and content hub for DPLA and implementation of new Geospatial metadata standards! Check out the MDL Section of Minitiex News to stay up-to-date with all of the cool things happening with the Minnesota Digital Library and Minnesota Reflections! And Register for SEI to benefit from her knowledge directly!

6 weeks from today SEI will be happening! If you’d like to bunk in the dorms at $53 per night, those arrangements will need to be made by next Friday, May 5. If you’d like to book a room at the Franklin inn, the block group rate of $165 per night can be secured until May 12th. There are a limited number of rooms at that price. An email will be sent to all registered attendees with the booking code.

Read all about SEI at http://seiworkshop.org where you can find our Statement of Inclusivity, info about registering, accommodations, curriculum and much more.

In its 14th year as a joint program between the  Art Libraries Society of North America(ARLIS/NA) and the Visual Resources Association Foundation (VRAF), SEI 2107 will be held at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, from June 6-9, 2017.

SEI provides both new and more experienced professionals the opportunity to stay current in the rapidly changing fields of digitization, project management, fair use and copyright, metadata, and digital asset management, as well as significant networking opportunities. As a 2015 SEI graduate noted, “The curriculum was excellent in scope, striking a balance between detailed, practical exploration of relevant skills & tools, and putting these in the context of broader issues in visual resources/arts librarianship.”

SEI 2017 is filling up. Register soon!

Contact the SEI co-chairs Jesse Henderson or Nicole Finzer with any questions and Follow us on Facebook

See you in North Carolina!

Job Posting: Metadata Librarian, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Beverly Hills, CA

Margaret Herrick Library is seeking a creative, dynamic, service-oriented Metadata Librarian (ML). The successful candidate will support the cataloging activities of the Technical Services Department, including bibliographic data quality control and database maintenance. This position will work collaboratively with the library’s film history subject specialists. The position is supervised by the Scripts Librarian.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:
In a supporting role the ML will perform bibliographic control of both MARC and non-MARC metadata to ensure that they meet local and national standards. Consulting and collaborating with various library stakeholders as appropriate, the ML will be responsible for implementing quality control in our library catalogs as directed by the Department Head and Authority Control Librarian. The ML will serve as a liaison to authority and database enrichment vendors (such as OCLC) and will perform the loading and quality control activities for vendor-supplied data. The ML will collaborate with Technical Services Department staff members to provide support in transitioning the department to a post-MARC communication format while continuing to contribute original and copy metadata to the Voyager catalog. The ML will also assist in special projects undertaken by the department as assigned by the Department Head and may participate in departmental and library-wide committees and work groups. Other cataloging and library duties will be assigned as required.

Requirements:

  • ALA-accredited Master’s degree in Library Science.
  • Knowledge of film studies, film history or related discipline is preferred.
  • Thorough knowledge of MARC and non-MARC metadata standards and practices.
  • Two years cataloging experience in original, copy and authority of MARC and non-MARC standards.
  • Demonstrated work experience in catalog modules of integrated library systems, preferably Voyager.
  • Demonstrated ability to solve cataloging problems in multiple bibliographic formats (e.g. monographic, periodical, etc.)
  • Experience with vendor authority control processes, preferably OCLC authorities, and original authority metadata creation.
  • Experience with loading large vendor record sets, such as OCLC.
  • Experience creating and manipulating data sets; experience with metadata crosswalks.
  • Knowledge of practices with linked data, semantic web applications, BIBFRAME, and authority/identifier initiatives.
  • Knowledge of database maintenance practices, including experience using global changes to clean up data.
  • Knowledge of new cataloging standards, Resource Description and Access (RDA) and BIBFRAME.
  • Some successful project management experience, preferably in a film studies, art or humanities library.
  • Ability to reach consensus with diverse constituencies.
  • Ability to prioritize work to ensure that departmental and library goals are realized.
  • Ability to work under supervision and independently.
  • Commitment to enhancing services through teamwork.
  • Demonstrated commitment to staff development and continuing education.
  • Excellent oral and written communication skills.
  • Flexibility in performing different tasks and learning new library systems.

Applicants should submit cover letter and resume by April 18, 2016 to be considered for this position.

More information and application: https://www.appone.com/MainInfoReq.asp?R_ID=1250020&B_ID=56&fid=1&Adid=0&ssbgcolor=FFFFFF&SearchScreenID=1670&CountryID=3&LanguageID=2&InternalJobCode=111460

Job Posting: Metadata Librarian, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, CA

Job Summary:
Margaret Herrick Library is seeking a creative, dynamic, service-oriented Metadata Librarian (ML). The successful candidate will work collaboratively with the library’s film history subject specialists and will support the cataloging activities of the Technical Services Department, including bibliographic data quality control and database maintenance. The position is supervised by the Head of Technical Services.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:
In a supporting role the ML will perform bibliographic control of both MARC and non-MARC metadata to ensure that they meet local and national standards. Consulting and collaborating with various library stakeholders as appropriate, this position will be responsible for implementing quality control in our library catalogs as directed by the Department Head and Authority Control Librarian. The ML serves as a liaison to authority and database enrichment vendors (such as OCLC) and performs the loading and quality control activities for vendor-supplied data. Qualified candidates will collaborate with Technical Services Department staff members to provide support in transitioning the department to a post-MARC communication format while continuing to contribute original and copy metadata to the Voyager catalog. They will also assist in special projects undertaken by the department as assigned by the Department Head and may participate in departmental and library-wide committees and work groups. Other cataloging and library duties will be assigned as required.

Requirements:

-Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in film studies, film history or related discipline.
-ALA-accredited Master’s degree in Library Science.
-Thorough knowledge of MARC and non-MARC metadata standards and practices.
-Two years cataloging experience in original, copy and authority of MARC and non-MARC standards.
-Demonstrated work experience in catalog modules of integrated library systems, preferably Voyager.
-Demonstrated ability to solve cataloging problems in multiple bibliographic formats (e.g. monographic, periodical, etc.)
-Experience with vendor authority control processes, preferably OCLC authorities, and original authority metadata creation.
-Experience with loading large vendor record sets, such as OCLC.
-Experience creating and manipulating data sets; experience with metadata crosswalks.
-Knowledge of practices with linked data, semantic web applications, BIBFRAME, and authority/identifier initiatives.
-Knowledge of database maintenance practices, including experience using global changes to clean up data.
-Knowledge of new cataloging standards, Resource Description and Access (RDA) and BIBFRAME.
-Some successful project management experience, preferably in a film studies, art or humanities library.
-Ability to reach consensus with diverse constituencies.
-Ability to prioritize work to ensure that departmental and library goals are realized.
-Ability to work under supervision and independently.
-Commitment to enhancing services through teamwork.
-Demonstrated commitment to staff development and continuing education.
-Excellent oral and written communication skills.
-Flexibility in performing different tasks and learning new library systems.

Applicants should submit cover letter and resume by March 11, 2016 to be considered for this position.

More information and application: https://www.appone.com/MainInfoReq.asp?R_ID=1193675&B_ID=56&fid=1&Adid=0&ssbgcolor=FFFFFF&SearchScreenID=1670&CountryID=3&LanguageID=2&InternalJobCode=111460

Job Posting: Cataloging and Metadata Assistant, University of California-Santa Barbara

Hourly: $18.70 – $21.24/hr.

At the Library, conducts complex bibliographic and authority file searching using Local ILS, OCLC Connexion, and other databases. Performs adaptive and complex copy-cataloging of monographic and/ or born-digital content in all Western languages via OCLC Connexion and the Library’s ILS.

Assists metadata librarians in assigning descriptive metadata for digital collections and born-digital content, particularly from the Art collection.

May create or update name authority records in OCLC Connexion authority file for new names, name changes, and new information encountered in the course of daily cataloging, under close supervision of the local NACO coordinator. Special cataloging and maintenance projects as assigned.

Requirements:

  • One to two years of library experience and/or equivalent combination of education and work experience.
  • Ability to utilize independent judgement in recommending library policies and procedures; ability to solve complex problems.
  • Ability to interpret and apply complex description, filing, and data entry procedures.
  • Demonstrated customer service experience and ability to work effectively with patrons, including students, staff, and faculty.
  • High degree of computer literacy and comfort in the digital environment; the ability to independently learn new technologies and their applications in libraries.
  • Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
  • Must be able to meet multiple deadlines in a fast-paced academic environment.

Desired:

  • Experience working with ALEPH integrated library system (catalog).
  • Two to three years of Library experience.

More information and application: https://jobs.ucsb.edu/applicants/jsp/shared/frameset/Frameset.jsp?time=1451920748312

Job Posting: Library Technician II (Digital Collection Services), Colorado State University, CO

Salary: $2,715 – $3,273 (monthly + Full Benefits)

Position summary: This position exists to support the development of digital collections by creating digital resources, building metadata, and supporting increased access to materials in the institution’s digital repository. The position also supports the preservation of the Libraries’ print collections by providing conservation treatment to deteriorated and damaged materials and assisting with general preservation activities, including disaster response and recovery.

Minimum qualifications:

Two years of experience in a collections-based library or cultural heritage environment (i.e. museums, historical societies, archives etc.) performing digitization and preservation processes. Digitization may have included the following formats: scanning negatives, photos, prints, slides, and digitization of audio. Preservation may have included hands-on conservation experience with paper or archival collections.

  • Please note: a resume and cover letter are required with your application materials. Please ensure your cover letter outlines why you are interested in this position, how your experience aligns with the responsibilities of this position, and what makes you the ideal candidate.

Preferred qualifications:

The highly desired candidate will possess the following knowledge, skills, abilities, personal characteristics, and experience directly related and critical to this position:

  • Experience supervising staff which included hiring, training, delegating tasks, maintaining quality control, providing feedback, and resolving challenges in the workplace to maintain productivity.
  • Demonstrated desire to provide and maintain a high standard of hand-crafted conservation techniques through attention to detail and evaluation of work quality.
  • Excellent interpersonal and verbal communication skills demonstrated through work experience as a team member and patron/customer assistance
  • Demonstrated ability to remain flexible and transition smoothly from one task to another with frequently changing priorities
  • Demonstrated ability to manage time effectively and work independently in order to accomplish job tasks accurately and efficiently
  • Demonstrated ability to use sound judgment and make decisions regarding the best course of action for digitization and/or preservation after thorough analysis of materials.

More information and application: https://jobs.colostate.edu/postings/29390

Visual Arts Research Data Management

Visual arts research data management (VARDM) seems to be a burgeoning subfield among art librarians and visual resource professionals that will be increasingly relevant to the success of emerging professionals in these fields. VARDM is the subject of a workshop at the VRA Annual Conference in March and, with the advent of data management services and interdisciplinary research, we can expect to see data management spread beyond the sciences into the arts and humanities.

VARDM is currently  more developed in the UK than the US, due to a series of JISC funded projects that have investigated the topic since 2007. These projects have labored to define the field, its component parts and the different roles that exist for researchers and data managers. The projects have made their various outputs available – most notably a series of online training toolkits aimed at students, researchers and data managers.

A common thread among these projects is the struggle to define key terms like ‘research data’, ‘data set’, and ‘research output’ as they pertain to the visual and performing arts. Some definitions that recur in the existing literature appear below.

Research Data

  • “A useful point to consider is that the research data of today may well be the special collections of the future” (cited in Murtagh, 2011)
  • “Research data is digital information created in the course of research but which isn’t a published research output. Research data excludes purely administrative records. The highest priority research data is that which underpins a research output” (Research Data Management Glossary)
  • “Data which arises out of, and evidences, research” (Garrett and Gramstadt, 2012)

Research Output – regardless of presentation, is a planned public statement of new knowledge or interpretation

Data Set – research collated in a certain way to substantiate a particular interpretation, analysis, or argument. May not always lead to a research output (Garrett and Grandstadt 2012)

Evidence – Evidence which is used or created to generate new knowledge and interpretations. (Garrett 2012)

The concept of the ‘visual arts researcher’ is a broad one, drawing from the fields of art, architecture, art history, design, dance, performance, etc. and including both practitioners and researchers from within each – including those who would identify simultaneously as both. Thus, ‘research data’ is understood to encompass sketches, samples, notebooks, process materials, reference materials, and any number of other things. Thinking about VARDM poses interesting challenges because, in addition to the logistics that need to be resolved in order to effectively preserve and provide access to the materials throughout their life cycle, one must constantly be distinguishing between the creative process and the research process, all the while recognizing moments when they intersect and align.

To date, most of the efforts to tackle these problems and get a handle on research data in the visual arts have been funded in various ways by JISC in the UK. Between 2007 and 2009, JISC funded a project called Kultur which developed an institutional repository model for research output in the creative and applied arts. Kultur was succeeded by a project called Kultivate which applied the best practice developed by Kultur. In August 2010, the JISC Managing Research Data Program (MRDP) funded the CAiRO project (Curating Artistic Research Output) which ran until July 2011 with the goal of creating a teaching and learning module designed for researchers at the postgraduate level.

CAiRO was followed by the KAPTUR project (also funded by JISC MRDP) from 2011 – 2013 which, “investigated the nature and scope of research data in the visual arts”, and, “created a sectoral model of best practice in the management of research data in the visual arts, consisting of: toolkits, workshops, case studies, institutional policies, a technical requirements analysis, and business and sustainability plans”. For more information, see the project’s outputs – in particular the  KAPTUR Environmental Assessment Report. The report investigates issues of terminology, the role of the visual arts researcher and the visual arts research data lifecycle by exploring the following two research questions:

What is the nature of visual arts research data?

How can we support the needs of visual arts researchers through institutional infrastructure

KAPTUR also developed three of the previously mentioned online toolkits designed to provide an introduction into research data in the visual arts and its management – two of the toolkits are geared towards researchers (Introduction to Research Data, Data Management Planning) and the third is intended for visual arts data managers (Managing the Material).

KAPTUR was succeeded by a group called VADS4R (Visual Arts Data Skills for Researchers) from February 2013-July 2014 which built upon the work of KAPTUR by piloting and further developing additional training plans and making the KAPTUR toolkits available. VADS4R created two additional toolkits: How to Avoid a Data Disaster and Writing the AHRC Technical Plan.

Within the VADS4R toolkits the merits of effective research data management are discussed at great length and I will not reproduce all of them here. The concise version, available on the project site, is as follows:

Managing your research data can…

…Ensure you meet research funder expectations

…Make it easier to understand successive iterations of your research

…Make it easier to re-visit your research if changes are required, for example by a journal editor or exhibition curator

…Enable easier access to your research for re-use in other projects

…Avoid the serious implications of having to re-do your research from scratch, for example due to data loss or inaccessible data

For emerging professionals, the point of interest here is not so much the history of VARDM projects in the UK, but the methodical aims and prodigious outputs of these projects which are exceptionally well documented and easily accessible online. While earning my MLIS I was not aware of any coursework addressing VARDM and I would be very interested to hear about any programs that offer this kind of material or institutions that are actively addressing it.

In the recent conference co-sponsored by ArLiSNAP and VREPS, “Visualizing the Future: New Perspectives in Art Librarianship”, Kate Thornhill of Lelsley University College of Art and Design discussed the early stages of her foray into VARDM. If you’re interested in initiating VARDM programming at your institution, I would recommend reviewing her presentation in addition to the VADS4R toolkits and Kultur outputs.

For more information: