Digital Specialist

at  University of Michigan

JOB SUMMARY

The William L. Clements Library collects, preserves, and makes available historical resources about the Americas, with strengths in 18th and 19th century American history. Reporting to the Digital Projects Librarian, the Digitization Specialist will support the ongoing work of the Clements Library’s digitization program. The specialist will be responsible for digitizing archival materials in a variety of formats, such as manuscripts, prints, photographs, and bound volumes; creating descriptive metadata; and completing post-processing tasks such as color-correction and rotating images.
This is a 40-hour/week position (M-F)
The annual salary is $45,000

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS*

• A bachelor’s degree and two years of digitization experience, or an equivalent combination of education and work experience.
• Experience with handling rare/archival materials and knowledge of scanning methods for archival documents, including working with TIFF/RAW image formats and software such as Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom
• Familiarity with library digitization standards, particularly Federal Agencies Digital Guidelines Initiative (FADGI), and with library metadata standards (Dublin Core, EAD, DACS)
• Strong interpersonal skills, and the ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and collaboratively, with the ability to manage multiple projects at once

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS*

• Graduate degree in information science or related field
• Familiarity with historical research methods, especially for topics in eighteenth and nineteenth century American history

• Work with the library conservator to assess the physical condition of materials and determine methods for safe digitization.
• Perform in-house scanning using an Epson scanner, Widetek scanner, or BookDrive Pro.
• Create metadata for archival materials and enter it into spreadsheets. Follow relevant standards such as DACS when creating descriptive metadata.
• Add URLs for digital objects to library catalog records (MARC format) or collection finding aids (EAD format).
• Track project status in a shared Trello board. Communicate regularly with other members of the team, including curators, digital photographer, and student interns.
• Support the library instruction and outreach program with select digitization of materials for teaching and outreach purposes. Digitize materials for researcher requests.
• Complete post-processing functions such as color correction and cropping.
• Assist in the development and revision of workflows and documentation related to digitization.
• Perform other duties as assigned.