98 · Representative Documents: Job Descriptions
Pennsylvania State University
Digital Records Archivist
Digital Records Archivist
The Pennsylvania State University Libraries seek applications and nominations for the position of Digital
Records Archivist. The person appointed to this tenure-track, faculty position will manage the Eberly
Family Special Collections Library’s existing born digital archival holdings and expand its capacity to collect
electronic records with the initial effort focused on university records.
The Eberly Family Special Collections Library at University Park comprises three units: Historical Collections
and Labor Archives, Rare Books and Manuscripts, and University Archives and Records Management,
together including a total of 18 full-time faculty and staff. The University Archives oversees the University
Records Management Program and Inactive Records Center, an extensive sports archives, photograph and
audio-visual collections, as well as Fred Waring’s America. More information about all special collections in
the University Libraries is available online at http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/speccolls.html.
Responsibilities:
The Digital Records Archivist will help develop and implement workflows and processes enabling the
effective acquisition, description, access, management and preservation of a broad range of digital content,
including university records, websites, email, and personal digital archives. This position reports to the
Head of the Eberly Family Special Collections Library and works closely with the University Archivist, other
archival professionals, librarians, information technologists, and records creators throughout the University.
The archivist will manage day-to-day activities in conjunction with the development and management of
repository services, the web archiving program, and a wide variety of born-digital records ingest and access
initiatives. The archivist will take the lead in identifying digital records of continuing institutional value and in
developing strategies for long-term preservation and access. The archivist will be expected to remain current
with emerging standards and professional best practices and be able to manage complex projects, coordinate
multiple activities and tasks, supervise part-time and student employees, and curate electronic records and
digital collections throughout the information lifecycle. The archivist will also perform regular archival duties,
including reference service and outreach activities, and assist in the dissemination of best practices, trend
reports, and operational guidelines. The archivist will perform other professional functions as needed.
Requirements:
Minimum qualifications are a MLS/MLIS from an ALA-accredited program (or equivalent), or a Masters
in Information Science, Archival Science, or related field. Experience working with the curation of digital
content in an archival repository. Familiarity with descriptive and data structure metadata standards such
as MARC, DAS, EAD, Dublin Core, METS, MODS, and PREMIS. Familiarity with tools and workflows being
developed to support the ingest and management of born digital records. Demonstrated knowledge of
the management, preservation, and access of electronic records, and expertise in working with electronic
records. Demonstrated knowledge of data storage methods, media, security, content management, and access.
The candidate must have excellent analytical, interpersonal and communication skills, be an effective team
contributor, have proven ability to manage projects and competing priorities with demonstrated ability to be
flexible, to adapt to change, and to work successfully in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
Preferred: Experience processing archival collections and providing archival reference services
experience working with tools that verify file authenticity, search for personal identity information, and
harvest websites programming/scripting skills in languages such as Java, PERL, and XSLT.
Environment: Penn State, a land-grant institution, is a member of the CIC (Big 10) academic consortium. In
its special "Paths to Professions" section on September 13, 2010, the Wall Street Journal published results of a
survey of industry recruiting executives, with Penn State named the No. 1 overall institution in the nation for
producing the best prepared, most well-rounded graduates who are most able to succeed once hired. Based
on current Association for Research Libraries investment rankings, Penn State is now ranked 7th out of 114 of
the largest research libraries in North America. A Penn State student survey completed in 2010 found overall
student satisfaction with the Libraries to be at the top of its category.
The Libraries hold membership in ARL, OCLC, and CRL. Collections exceed 5.4 million volumes, including
more than 109,000 current serial subscriptions. The University Libraries are located at University Park and
Pennsylvania State University
Digital Records Archivist
Digital Records Archivist
The Pennsylvania State University Libraries seek applications and nominations for the position of Digital
Records Archivist. The person appointed to this tenure-track, faculty position will manage the Eberly
Family Special Collections Library’s existing born digital archival holdings and expand its capacity to collect
electronic records with the initial effort focused on university records.
The Eberly Family Special Collections Library at University Park comprises three units: Historical Collections
and Labor Archives, Rare Books and Manuscripts, and University Archives and Records Management,
together including a total of 18 full-time faculty and staff. The University Archives oversees the University
Records Management Program and Inactive Records Center, an extensive sports archives, photograph and
audio-visual collections, as well as Fred Waring’s America. More information about all special collections in
the University Libraries is available online at http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/speccolls.html.
Responsibilities:
The Digital Records Archivist will help develop and implement workflows and processes enabling the
effective acquisition, description, access, management and preservation of a broad range of digital content,
including university records, websites, email, and personal digital archives. This position reports to the
Head of the Eberly Family Special Collections Library and works closely with the University Archivist, other
archival professionals, librarians, information technologists, and records creators throughout the University.
The archivist will manage day-to-day activities in conjunction with the development and management of
repository services, the web archiving program, and a wide variety of born-digital records ingest and access
initiatives. The archivist will take the lead in identifying digital records of continuing institutional value and in
developing strategies for long-term preservation and access. The archivist will be expected to remain current
with emerging standards and professional best practices and be able to manage complex projects, coordinate
multiple activities and tasks, supervise part-time and student employees, and curate electronic records and
digital collections throughout the information lifecycle. The archivist will also perform regular archival duties,
including reference service and outreach activities, and assist in the dissemination of best practices, trend
reports, and operational guidelines. The archivist will perform other professional functions as needed.
Requirements:
Minimum qualifications are a MLS/MLIS from an ALA-accredited program (or equivalent), or a Masters
in Information Science, Archival Science, or related field. Experience working with the curation of digital
content in an archival repository. Familiarity with descriptive and data structure metadata standards such
as MARC, DAS, EAD, Dublin Core, METS, MODS, and PREMIS. Familiarity with tools and workflows being
developed to support the ingest and management of born digital records. Demonstrated knowledge of
the management, preservation, and access of electronic records, and expertise in working with electronic
records. Demonstrated knowledge of data storage methods, media, security, content management, and access.
The candidate must have excellent analytical, interpersonal and communication skills, be an effective team
contributor, have proven ability to manage projects and competing priorities with demonstrated ability to be
flexible, to adapt to change, and to work successfully in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
Preferred: Experience processing archival collections and providing archival reference services
experience working with tools that verify file authenticity, search for personal identity information, and
harvest websites programming/scripting skills in languages such as Java, PERL, and XSLT.
Environment: Penn State, a land-grant institution, is a member of the CIC (Big 10) academic consortium. In
its special "Paths to Professions" section on September 13, 2010, the Wall Street Journal published results of a
survey of industry recruiting executives, with Penn State named the No. 1 overall institution in the nation for
producing the best prepared, most well-rounded graduates who are most able to succeed once hired. Based
on current Association for Research Libraries investment rankings, Penn State is now ranked 7th out of 114 of
the largest research libraries in North America. A Penn State student survey completed in 2010 found overall
student satisfaction with the Libraries to be at the top of its category.
The Libraries hold membership in ARL, OCLC, and CRL. Collections exceed 5.4 million volumes, including
more than 109,000 current serial subscriptions. The University Libraries are located at University Park and
