DigitalKoans

The University of Michigan Library is recruiting a Head, Digital Library Production Services.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Digital Library Production Service (DLPS), a part of the University of Michigan University Library, is one of the nation’s premier organizations for the creation and support of digital library resources and infrastructure, with production level support for electronic library collections. Comprised of more than 20 staff members, including librarians, programmers, and skilled technical staff, DLPS is funded primarily with a base budget for both staff and equipment, and relies on significant grant and revenue funding for a variety of new and incremental initiatives. Staff members within DLPS have responsibility for creating online access mechanisms, and for significant digital conversion activities. DLPS provides these services to the University of Michigan as well as to other institutions. DLPS staff members play a significant role in the University of Michigan Library’s work on the HathiTrust digital library and conversion related to the Google Books digitization effort. Most conversion activities are conducted through a unit within DLPS, the Digital Conversion Unit (DCU). In addition to work related to HathiTrust, one of the world’s largest digitized book and journal collections, DLPS staff support several hundred thousand rich images in visual resource collections, large collections of finding aids, and contribute to the Library’s development efforts with many other formats. DLPS is also the primary development organization for DLXS (www.dlxs.org), a leading-edge initiative for the development of a digital library access system. . . .

Reporting to the Associate University Librarian for Library Information Technology, the Head of DLPS manages all operational aspects of DLPS, including:

• Management of more than 20 FTE staff in several functional areas;
• Budget management across DLPS ($1.5m of combined annual base budget, grant, and revenue funds), for both personnel and vended services; includes DLXS-related budget management;
• General coordination or direction of Digital Conversion Unit (DCU) activities in conjunction with DCU’s manager.
• General strategic planning for DLPS;
• DLXS development, planning, and outreach;
• A role on the University of Michigan campus and beyond (i.e., nationally and internationally) representing the University Library's digital library efforts and capabilities and promoting appropriate adoption in those venues.

The University of Michigan Library is recruiting a Text Creation Partnership Project Outreach Librarian (two-year term).

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The University of Michigan Library and Oxford University Library have collaborated for several years with three corporate partners, ProQuest Information and Learning. Readex-Newsbank and Gale Cengage Learning, in an international effort to create structurally marked-up full-text transcriptions of early English and American printed books, dating from 1475 to 1800, on behalf of a large and growing academic consortium, the Text Creation Partnership (TCP). About 32,000 texts have been produced so far, towards a goal of 80,000, representing a substantial portion of the nearly 300,000 books contained in the subscription databases from which they are transcribed: Early English Books Online (EEBO), Evans Early American Imprints, and Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO). ProQuest, Readex, and Gale supply the page images; Michigan and Oxford oversee the keying and SGML/XML tagging; and the partner libraries own the resulting corpus. This is arguably the largest and most significant full-text project of its kind undertaken to date, not least in that it is being done under terms that reflect the needs and values of libraries and scholars.

The Text Creation Partnership Project Outreach Librarian will be appointed as a Librarian (or equivalent professional classification) at the University Library and will work under the supervision of the TCP Project Director (also a librarian at the University Library). The Outreach Librarian will be housed in the Scholarly Publishing Office at the University of Michigan Library and will interact with a wide range of staff throughout the Library system. The University of Michigan is a national leader in digital library development and the Project Outreach Librarian will be working with skilled digital library and electronic publishing specialists as well as leading collection, service, and processing librarians at Michigan, Oxford, ProQuest, and the libraries funding and supporting the project.

The University of Michigan Library is recruiting a Digital Preservation Librarian.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Digital Preservation Librarian will report to the head of the Department of Preservation and Conservation. Working closely with staff in Library IT Core Services, Digital Library Production Service, the Scholarly Publishing Office, Deep Blue, Preservation, and other library units, as well as with partners at other institutions, the Digital Preservation Librarian will:

• Research, plan, and develop the digital preservation program for University Library collections of enduring value in digital format: review existing library practices and analyze needs and establish policies and best practices for the long-term protection and access to digital materials of all types, both created by or acquired by the library. While the library’s focus has been on text and images, digital collections to be preserved may also include data, audio-visual resources, Web pages, and ephemera. Working with specialists at other partner institutions, the Digital Preservation Librarian will also support the development of the preservation program for the HathiTrust.
• Assist in the ongoing development of requirements and specifications, including formats and metadata, for digital material the library solicits, accepts, or purchases into its collections. Advise both library staff and external content creators on strategies and the practical implementation of those specifications.
• Advise library staff and digital initiatives on all phases of the life cycle of digital content with the aim of long-term retention and access; provide training or orientations. Represent and champion digital preservation interests across the library, the university, and to the community at large.
• Prepare proposals for external funding for digital preservation projects. Prepare specifications for vended services that support the digital preservation program; evaluate responses to proposals for such services and make recommendations for selecting vendors; and act on behalf of the library as a technical liaison on preservation issues to vendors providing digital materials. Represent the University Library in cooperative projects or programs in digital preservation.
• Research and advise the library on contingency plans against threats to the digital collections, such as industry changes to file formats, natural disaster, and security breaches.
• Stay current on developing technologies, standards, and practice in preservation of digital collections; recommend responses to these developments through periodic alerts, summaries, reports, and revisions to policies and procedures. Represent the University Library in forums on digital preservation at the campus, regional, national, or international level.

The MIT Libraries are recruiting a Metadata Librarian.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The MIT Libraries is seeking a self-motivated Metadata Librarian to join the service-oriented and innovative staff of our Cataloging and Metadata Services (CAMS) Department in support of discovery and access to MIT collections in both print and digital formats. This is a new position, whose responsibilities include: original and complex copy cataloging of monographic materials in all formats, creating and maintaining authority records, and creating metadata for the Libraries' digital projects. This position will serve as a resource for support staff performing copy cataloging and assist the unit manager with staff training, workflow redesign, and prioritizing and managing projects. The Metadata Librarian reports to the Head of the Monograph Cataloging Unit, works closely with the Metadata Specialist who leads the Metadata Services unit, and collaborates with staff of other library units engaged in metadata creation. S/he will direct students and supervise the work of staff as needed, be expected to keep current with emerging standards, and participate in committees and projects within MIT Libraries and beyond. The MIT Libraries currently utilize the Ex Libris' Aleph System for its Integrated Library System and DSpace for its digital repository. We are experimenting with vendor cataloging and end-processing services for more routine materials in order to allow CAMS to focus on specialized resources and MIT-produced content. CAMS maintains a close working relationship with all the directorates in the MIT Libraries and in particular works with the Technology Research and Development group which engages in research on the application of Semantic Web and Data Grid technologies to digital libraries and data curation. CAMS seeks to operationalize the output of this research.

The Indiana University Digital Library Program is recruiting a Programmer/Analyst, Variations Application Development.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Working as part of a small software development team for the Variations digital music library system, maintains and improves the algorithm for converting library catalog records to a FRBR (Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records) model; re-architects the search subsystem within Variations to make it separable and FRBR-based; implements web-based user interfaces for the new search and cataloging features; participates in full software life cycle activities: requirements, design, implementation, testing, debugging, maintenance, and support; communicates effectively with the larger team, which includes usability and user interface design personnel and metadata specialists; and documents work and trains users as needed.

The University of Massachusetts Boston Joseph P. Healey Library is recruiting a Digital Library Services Librarian for Technical Services.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Digital Library Services Librarian for Technical Services assumes overall responsibility for digital library services metadata development, cataloging, and quality control policy development and maintenance in coordination with Fenway Library Online (FLO) standards and expectations. The incumbent trains, supervises, and develops all primary technical services functions in a network environment with FLO in accordance with new developing modes to acquire, access, and store information resources. This position is part of the Digital Library Services (DLS) management team which coordinates departmental policies, procedures and workflows, including technical services and how DLS functions related to other library operations and services, particularly Reference Outreach and Instruction. The incumbent supports access to Healey Library’s print and digital collections, including e-journals, e-books, blogs, pod-casts, 3-D images, virtual environments, and other web content as selected by faculty, librarians, and other stakeholders. S/he also assists in the development and maintenance of the library’s web portal. The incumbent works in coordination with the Acquisitions Coordinator and the Electronic Resources Librarian to ensure efficient and effective delivery of electronic resources to the campus community, using emerging information technologies and standards-based methods. S/he works independently with Library colleagues and community partners to develop and provide access to information and materials that support research and public needs and meet the outreach goals of the Library. S/he participates in preparing grant submissions for additional projects and maintains statistics and produces monthly reports

Houston Public Library is recruiting a Librarian III.

Here's an excerpt from the ad :

The Houston Public Library seeks an energetic, knowledgeable, self motivated, customer service driven individual to create descriptive metadata for digital images as well as texts in accordance with established standards and make accessible online. Participate in the development of policy and procedures for digitization projects and coordinate them with other departments and cultural institutions. Assist digitalization staff to manage digital content, and determine controlled vocabularies, and perform original cataloging. Monitor and maintain URL links in the Innovative Interfaces, Inc. bibliographic databases for subscribed online databases, and electronic books, eAudiobooks, and journals. Supervise one paraprofessional as well as any temporary digital collections staff. Work with manager to establish local cataloging rules and schema for digital collection.