Metadata Archivist

Job Posting Title:

Metadata Archivist

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Hiring Department:

Dolph Briscoe Center for American History

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Position Open To:

All Applicants

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Weekly Scheduled Hours:

40

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FLSA Status:

Exempt

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Earliest Start Date:

Immediately

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Position Duration:

Expected to Continue

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Location:

UT MAIN CAMPUS

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Job Details:

General Notes

The Briscoe Center for American History is one of the nation’s leading research centers for historical study. The center’s archives, libraries, museums, and historic buildings are part of The University of Texas at Austin’s commitment to collecting, preserving, and making available the evidence of the past.

The center’s exhibit spaces, classrooms, and Reading Room are located on The University of Texas at Austin campus. The center also operates the Briscoe–Garner Museum in Uvalde, Texas; the Sam Rayburn Museum in Bonham, Texas; and Winedale, a research collection of nineteenth-century structures, material culture, and decorative arts located near Round Top, Texas.

The Briscoe Center promotes the university’s teaching and research mission through classes and seminars, academic fellowships, faculty collaborations, and student internships. The center fosters public exploration of history through research services, exhibits, books, public programs, and digital humanities projects inspired by archival holdings.

Purpose

The Briscoe Center for American History seeks a detail oriented and collaborative metadata archivist who will be responsible for coordinating and managing the development and implementation of metadata strategies that support the discovery of the Centers digital and analog materials, across platforms and data types, including collection description, collection management data, born-digital archives, curated digital collections, and institutional digital assets. The Metadata Archivist will report to the Assistant Director for Digital Content Strategy.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement metadata strategies for current and future platforms to support the discovery and preservation of the Center's digital and analog materials. This includes collection descriptions, management data, born-digital archives, curated digital collections, and institutional digital assets.
• Maintain and develop metadata standards, ontologies, policies, and workflows for digital resources. Provide training to staff on metadata practices and procedures.
• Serve as the primary contact for user experience and usability in staff metadata creation and editing. Lead authority control efforts to ensure consistent use of names, places, and subjects in metadata.
• Normalize, map, and migrate legacy metadata for use in evolving systems and applications.
• Participate in center-wide activities, working groups, and other center committees as assigned. Work in the reading room regularly and respond to reference inquiries from a wide variety of individuals and entities.
• Recruit, train and supervise student interns.
• Collaborate with campus colleagues in Information Technology Services, University Libraries, the Texas Advanced Computing Center, and Records Management to integrate linked data technologies.
• Keep abreast of national standards and emerging technologies in resource description, applying relevant developments and advising colleagues on their potential impact.
• Other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• MLS/MLIS from an ALA accredited program or equivalent degree in a related field
• 1-2 years of experience in a library or archives setting.
• Knowledge of relevant metadata schemas and standards used in libraries and archives
• Strong problem-solving abilities and technical skills
• Experience managing metadata throughout its lifecycle, from initial description to release in a production application
• Experience using archival information management systems and digital object repository systems
• Knowledge of data modeling, data conceptualization, and data exchange formats
• Knowledge of transforming metadata using tools like open refine or scripting languages
• Proficiency using Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel, and text editors like BBEdit
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Demonstrated commitment to a collaborative work environment

Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience developing in Unix bas