Date: December 27, 2005 11:18:20 AM CST
Subject: [Mdl] U Minnesota -- Position Announcement
HEAD OF DIGITAL COLLECTIONS
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities -- University Libraries
The University of Minnesota Libraries seek a Head of Digital Collections eager to provide innovative and expert leadership. We seek an individual who knows best practices in digital content production and management, is an excellent project manager and communicator, and is skilled at building partnerships. This individual will have extraordinary opportunities to innovate and collaborate on digital projects with the Libraries' Archives and Special Collections, which is home to internationally renowned collections, and other Libraries and campus entities. Digital collection production plays an essential role in the Libraries aspiration to build and reveal collections of distinction.
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CONTEXT:
The Digital Collections unit (DCU) fosters the creation of and access to research and scholarly material in digital form from within the collections of the Libraries and across the University of Minnesota. The DCU, in collaboration with subject specialists and archivists, provides expertise and services to departments, labs, and centers of the University, supporting the creation, collection, archiving, and dissemination of digital content. The DCU supports in-house and externally contracted digitization services (including fee-based services). The DCU works with Technical Services to develop comprehensive metadata standards for digital assets and shares these with the campus through documentation, training, and collaborative project planning. The DCU monitors and participates in national and international initiatives to ensure that local practice is compatible with emerging standards in the larger digital collections community. The work of the DCU complements and is closely coordinated with the Libraries' Digital Conservancy initiative, which develops sustained institutional capacity for access and preservation of born-digital information assets.
Digital Collections is a unit within the Information Technology (IT) division of the University Libraries and reports to the division's Digital Library Development Lab, a department that provides programming and architectural support for digital library initiatives. Other departments in the IT division include one for management of Libraries enterprise systems, and another responsible for desktop and server infrastructure and basic technology skills development.
As a member of the Digital Library Federation, a recipient of IMLS funds, and a participant in the Minnesota Digital Library Coalition, the University of Minnesota Libraries builds tools and collections that serve as statewide, national, and international models and interact effectively with other digital collections of interest to the University community.
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POSITION DESCRIPTION:
The Head of Digital Collections reports to the Director of the Digital Library Development Lab in the Libraries' Information Technology division, and serves on the Information Technology Council. The Head convenes with the leadership of the Libraries' Archives and Special Collections, and Technical Services departments, and the Collections Council, as appropriate.
Planning and Development -- the Head develops digital projects for the Libraries and seeks external funding sources to continue the innovative work of the unit; works closely as a unit within the Digital Library Development Lab to develop appropriate systems and tools for collection access, management, and preservation; and works with the other IT managers, as appropriate.
Campus Partnership & Services -- the Head fosters collaboration and exchange with departments, labs, and centers across the University in identifying, transforming, storing, and sharing digital works; identifies assets in need of DCU services, develops relationships with those responsible for managing such assets, shares expertise in electronic archiving and metadata with the campus, and builds strong working relationships.
Collaboration -- the Head collaborates with other library units to ensure that the full range of library expertise and resources are applied to distributed efforts to build and manage digital collections.
Research & Sharing -- the Head participates in larger digital library community, works to share that knowledge through various forms of professional contribution, and seeks opportunities for statewide, national, and international partnerships.
Operations Management -- the Head manages the operations budget of the DCU, and recruits and supervises its staff.
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QUALIFICATIONS:
Required: Bachelor's degree; at least three years of growing responsibility and accomplishment in digitization or digital collection production and development; familiarity with best practices for digitization, for metadata development and capture, and for archival storage of digital objects; demonstrated understanding of emerging standards in digitization and digital library systems; demonstrated involvement in the profession; ability to work in a complex organization, build and nurture a cross functional team, and collaborate with wide variety of partners; supervisory experience; excellent written and verbal communication skills. Preferred: An ALA-accredited masters degree in Library or Information Science, or other relevant advanced degree; Knowledge of and success with external funding sources; ability to liaison well with faculty; experience partnering with diverse coalitions, experience in academic, research library, or cultural heritage environments; experience with the creation and capture of a wide variety of digital formats; knowledge of the design and development of digital library architecture and tools; financial management experience; evidence of planning and project management skill.
SALARY AND BENEFITS:
The University Libraries offer a competitive salary commensurate with skills and experience. Excellent benefits. This is a full-time, 12-month, annually renewable Academic Professional position in the Information Technology Supervisor classification.
TO APPLY:
Position is available immediately. Position will remain open until filled. Send letter of application, resume, and names and contact information of three current professional references to: Libraries Human Resources, 499 Wilson Library, University of Minnesota, 309 19th Ave. So., Minneapolis, MN 55455. Please identify the application with UL204.
The University of Minnesota is an Equal Opportunity Educator and Employer.