Job purpose:
- To contribute to the development and implementation of the Library’s Digital Scholarship Strategy.
- To support curators and other professionals in: Asian and African/European/Western Heritage/Contemporary British Collections.
- To work with a matrix reporting line to the Head of Asian and African/European/ Western Heritage/Contemporary British Collections to support development of digital curation across Collections.
- To be a catalyst in the implementation and integration of digital collections and digital tools into curatorial functions, whether project based or business as usual.
- To lead innovative digital projects, working closely with curators in discipline areas.
- To train and advise staff throughout the Library in digital scholarship.
Key areas of responsibility :
- To work with a matrix reporting line to the Head of Asian and African/European/ Western Heritage/Contemporary British Collections to support development of digital curation across Collections.
- To lead on and leverage developments in digital scholarship and the demand from curators and scholars for new ways of researching which can exploit digital content.
- To create partnerships, internal and external, which can support the Library’s strategic objectives in acquiring digital content, or exploiting the collection in digital ways.
- To develop models of digital scholarship and implement them across the Library’s collections.
- To encourage, support and assist curators in Asian and African/European/ Western Historical/Contemporary British Collections to realise their vision of integrating a variety of formats into a seamless research experience or of digitising particular parts of the Library’s collections.
- To lead on and contribute to the delivery of major projects requiring deep knowledge of digital scholarship.
- To train staff throughout the Library in the opportunities for and practices of digital scholarship.
Resources managed:
- Curators, support staff, and project budgets [will vary]
Main tasks
Content development and collection management
- To contribute to implementing the annual Digital Scholarship Action Plan
- To research and scan Higher Education policy and practices relevant to Digital Scholarship
- To identify digital scholarship opportunities that the Library should pursue to support the researcher, and disseminate to colleagues information about new methodologies and technologies emerging
- To develop in collaboration with Library curators partnerships with research groups in the UK or overseas to ensure a mutually beneficial relationship in developing joint projects or sharing expertise which can support the researcher
- To examine trends in digital publishing in order to support curators in their content development decisions
- To identify in collaboration with external researchers, partners, curators and other stakeholders ways in which to exploit the collection in digital terms, both through digitisation and integration of formats, which can expand understanding of the collection
- To actively support curators by examining with them how to realise their vision of digital scholarship.
- To train and advise curators and other staff in all aspects of digital scholarship, especially digital scholarship methods
- To work with curators in Asian and African/European/ Western Historical/Contemporary British Collections to develop and implement business as usual working models relating to digital collections or tools
- To work with curators in Asian and African/European/ Western Historical/Contemporary British Collections to develop and implement projects relating to digital collections or tools
- To develop business plans and proposals for major digital scholarship projects
- To manage major digital scholarship projects
Resources management
- To manage project-based staff as required and work within budget on a project-by-project basis
- To resolve queries in regular meetings with DFM representatives
- To review Continuous Improvement (CI) opportunities within the department, co-ordinate CI discussions, establish priorities and undertake projects that drive continuous improvement locally and corporately
- To motivate, encourage and manage direct reports, give feedback on performance on a frequent basis, undertake performance Management Review (PMR) reports for self and others on time and filed by end of the appropriate review cycle.
- To review, input to and implement feedback from the regular Staff Surveys undertaken for the directorate
- To review, input to and implement Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities that contribute positively to BL reputation
- To contribute towards directorate Key Performance Indicator activities and directorate performance evaluation.
- To work closely with teams in other divisions, especially Audiences and Operations, to improve connectivity in project work and the realisation of that part of the Library’s vision that relates to digital
Personal and professional development
- To maintain contacts in specialist field of studies and keep abreast of new and emerging research trends and methodologies that are relevant to digital scholarship
- To produce personal scholarly contributions through publication, paper-giving at conferences, lectures, etc.
- To participate in the directorate’s training and up-skilling programme on a regular basis.
Other
- Expected to demonstrate a willingness to take on a range of tasks and to develop new skills, as appropriate, in own or other departments/directorates to support the delivery of the Library’s services as required by line management
Minimum requirements (essential):
- First degree level qualification or equivalent experience, knowledge and skills
- Keen interest in and good understanding of digital scholarship
- Excellent understanding of digital research and practices
- Experience in leading on digital research projects
- Excellent information technology skills with respect to digital research methods and practices
- Project-management skills and experience
- Employment experience in a research library, academic or other appropriate environment
- The ability to work both independently and as part of a team
- The ability to undertake ‘internal consulting’, advising colleagues on best practice, etc.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to interpret curatorial and technical vocabularies.
Additional requirements (desirable):
- Qualified information professional (Chartered Librarian or equivalent)
- Post-graduate degree in a relevant discipline
- Knowledge and experience in writing research grants and proposals
- Good understanding of the overall content and make-up of the Library’s collections
Reporting To: Head of Digital Research (SB4)
Position in the Library: Leading Expert/Manager
University Hosting the Position: British Library (National library of the United Kingdom), UK