The British Library's Digital Collection is a unique treasure trove, with everything from digitised manuscripts and books, to born-digital personal archives, eBooks and eJournals, digital electoral registers, a world of Sound content, the UK Web Archive, and much more. In total, the collection comprises many millions of individual digital objects and millions more digital files, amounting to well over a petabyte of data. All of these items require efficient management if they are to persist over time and remain reliably available into the future.
This post represents a rare opportunity to join the Library’s Digital Collections Management & Preservation Team and help implement a new, holistic approach to managing the Library's Digital Collection. Working with the Head of Digital Collection Management, the successful candidate will work closely with colleagues from around the Library to progress the Library's new Collection Management Strategy, focusing specifically on improving and consolidating our digital collections practices. Reporting directly to the Digital Preservation Research & Services Lead and managing a small team of their own, the post holder will also take responsibility for coordinating local services like the Digital Media Capture Unit and Minimum Preservation Tool to provide targeted preservation support for collections not yet ingested to our digital repository.
This is an exciting role with excellent potential for growth. Candidates should be able to demonstrate a keen interest in and knowledge of the Library's Digital Collections, with several years’ experience of working in a managerial capacity as well as having operational experience with digital library systems and technologies. Possessing an undergraduate degree in Library, Archives, or Information Science, or a related discipline, candidates should be able to demonstrate a sound understanding of concepts relating to digital lifecycle management, including issues and concepts relating to long term digital preservation and curation, and have an aptitude for the development of policies. Excellent people skills are a must, alongside a proven ability to work independently and a keen eye for detail. With strong writing, desktop computing and information management skills, the ideal candidate will be a confident self-starter, able to work and communicate with colleagues from a range of different disciplines and backgrounds.
The role is primarily based in Boston Spa, Yorkshire, though in line with Library policy there is also flexibility to work part of the week from home. There will be an opportunity for occasional travel to London, and for the right candidate, the possibility of international travel to engage with digital collection management initiatives being developed elsewhere.