Cornell University Library seeks an innovative, collaborative and service-oriented Digital Archivist to oversee digital holdings management in Rare and Manuscript Collections (RMC) and the Kheel Center for Labor Management.
The opportunity: Reporting to the Director for Archival Technical Services, the Digital Archivist is responsible for collecting and managing all born-digital and digitized archival assets, including identifying and implementing the infrastructure and standards-based workflows needed to support digital asset accessioning, description, preservation, and access. The Digital Archivist will work closely with colleagues in RMC, the Kheel Center and other Cornell University Library (CUL) units, to facilitate the management and long-term stewardship of digital archival resources, and will collaborate closely with teams and other groups whose work is part of the digital asset lifecycle.
As a Research, Teaching, and Extension (RTE) faculty member, the Digital Archvist will engage in service, scholarship, and ongoing professional development to meet the requirements of promotion and reappointment at Cornell University Library.
Candidate profile:
- MLIS from an ALA-accredited institution with a concentration in Archives, or equivalent advanced degree, and three to five years of professional experience in an archive.
- Demonstrated experience working with archival material in analog, digital, and hybrid archival collections and digitized and born-digital materials in current and non-current digital formats.
- Demonstrated experience developing and implementing workflows and procedures supporting transfer, arrangement, and description of digital material, and communicating these workflows effectively to colleagues.
- Demonstrated collaboration skills, commitment to knowledge sharing, and the ability to work effectively within and across organizational boundaries in a diverse organization and with a wide variety of users.
- Excellent interpersonal, problem solving, and analytical skills, and an ability to communicate effectively with technical and non-technical users.
- Demonstrated experience in archival description in an archival information management system (e.g., ArchivesSpace), digital asset management, digital preservation systems, web archiving, and working with data structure standards relevant to digital collections in a special collections context (including DACS, EAD, EAC-CPF).
- Demonstrated interest in staying current with archival practices for processing born-digital material.
- Demonstrated commitment to and support for a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Additionally, we would prefer:
- Continuing education coursework or certification in digital archives.
- Experience with scripting or programming languages to automate workflows and processes; tools for data cleaning and/or manipulation (e.g., OpenRefine); specialized forensics tools (e.g., hardware writeblockers, utilities found in the BitCurator environment).
This hybrid position is located in Ithaca, New York. The selected candidate will typically work on the Ithaca campus 3 or 4 day(s) per week, with potential for entering into a flexible work arrangement to allow remote work 1 or 2 day(s) per week. The university reserves the right to modify, suspend, revoke or terminate the hybrid work arrangement at any time.
The New York Convenience of employer guidelines require New York State individual tax reporting and withholdings for this position. Additional individual state income tax filings may also be required if working temporarily outside New York State.
Our Vision: Empowering Cornell’s research and learning community with deep expertise, innovative services, and outstanding collections strengthened by strategic partnerships.
Our Mission: Cornell University Library promotes a culture of broad inquiry and supports the University’s mission to discover, preserve, and disseminate knowledge and creative expression. It engages with the ongoing transformations of society to deliver world-class physical and digital content and services critical to research, education, and outreach, now and in the future. The Library acts globally, supporting Cornell’s land grant mission in New York State and beyond, and builds partnerships within and outside the university. It invests in its staff, collections, and physical and virtual libraries. And, it serves as a neutral and trusted party supporting information access and scholarly communication.
Diversity and Inclusion: As a university founded to be a place where “…any person can find instruction in any study,” diversity and inclusion are at the core of our values and mission. We strive to be a welcoming, caring, healthy, and equitable community where students, faculty, and staff with different backgrounds, perspectives, abilities, and experiences can learn, innovate, and work in an environment of respect, and feel empowered to engage in any community conversation. As a member of the Cornell University community, it is important to recognize our shared responsibility to each other to cultivate a culture of inclusion for all. Cornell Core values: https://www.cornell.edu/about/values.cfm
Environment: The Ithaca campus sits on 2,300 acres in the heart of the Finger Lakes region. Ithaca, located roughly halfway between Manhattan and Toronto, offers a wealth of cultural activities while maintaining an eclectic college-town feel. Outdoor enthusiasts can take advantage of rolling hills, breathtaking gorges, hiking trails, and lakes offering countless outdoor activities. The city has been named one of the top 100 places to live, a top 10 recreation city, a best green place to live, and one of the “foodiest” towns in America.
Benefits: Our comprehensive benefits package includes 22 vacation days, 13 paid holidays, health insurance, life insurance, university retirement contributions, childcare and adoption assistance, and child tuition reimbursement. Funding is available to support professional development and research. More information regarding Cornell’s generous endowed employee benefits can be found here: https://hr.cornell.edu/understand-your-benefits .
We expect to fill this position at the academic rank of Senior Assistant Archivist. The anticipated salary range is $72,000-$78,000 and will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.
Relocation assistance may be provided.
Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.
How to Apply: All candidates must apply online via the Cornell Careers site: See job requisition ID WDR-00048839. For full consideration, please include the following with your application:
1. A cover letter that addresses your interest and why you are a good candidate for this position.
2. A Curriculum Vitae.
3. A statement supporting diverse communities. To continue to meet our educational, research and service goals and to meet our commitment to our founding principle, we hire and invest in faculty members who share our historical commitment to pursing knowledge for …any person…in any study. We ask applicants for all faculty positions to share their experiences and/or approaches (past, current or future). Applicants can submit a stand-alone statement or embed the information in other parts of their application materials. Guidelines for candidates are here: https://facultydevelopment.cornell.edu/department-resources/recruitment/supporting-a-diverse-community/.
We will review applications on a rolling basis and we strongly encourage early submission. Although we prefer to receive your application as one, multi-page pdf document, we will accept multiple documents in other formats.