Job Description
The Brown University Library is a dynamic center of scholarship and community at the heart of a world-class
research university. Supporting and collaborating with a broad and diverse academic constituency, the Library is
essential for Brown’s mission “to serve the community, the nation, and the world by discovering, communicating,
and preserving knowledge and understanding in a spirit of free inquiry.” Integrating with Brown’s ambitious
strategic plans, the Library is a site of innovation that fuels intellectual creativity. Signature Library initiatives
include the establishment of the Center for Library Exploration and Research to increase campus and community
impact; the Racial Justice Project to assess and counteract the legacies of historical racism in library practice; the
Digital Publications Initiative pioneering new approaches to born-digital scholarship; and a revisioned special
collections program that is positioning the John Hay Library as a research destination and leader in reparative and
community-based collecting. We are seeking outstanding library professionals at all levels of the organization who
are excited about advancing academic excellence at the highest level, and who will bring a wide array of
backgrounds, experiences, and abilities to a scholarly community that is actively committed to being more diverse
and inclusive.
The Digital Archivist preserves and provides access to born digital and reformatted digital materials from archival
and manuscript collections at the John Hay Library to advance the integrative scholarship and educational mission
of the University. This position is essential to providing access and supporting widespread dissemination of digital
collection materials, particularly in accordance with the Library’s Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan goal. This
position’s work will focus on materials from the priority collection areas identified in the John Hay’s Collection
Policy.
Reporting to the Head, Digital Services and Records Management, the Digital Archivist will preserve born digital
and reformatted digital collection materials including websites, social media, email and other digital record types.
The Digital Archivist will apply an anti-racist framework to their preservation and collecting activities, they will
prioritize work on collections materials that support underrepresented groups and strategic growth areas
identified in the collection policy. To support this work, the Digital Archivist will train and mentor student
assistants to perform entry-level tasks. Their preservation work will also be informed by direct user interaction
through regular service at library service points.
Benefits & Additional Compensation Info
Brown University Benefits Spotlight
Additional Info & Requirements
Education and Experience
● ALA-accredited master’s degree in library or information science, or an equivalent combination of education
and experience.
● 1 year of experience in an academic library, public library, school library or other cultural heritage setting, or
educational institution in a cataloging, teaching, administration, or research role.
● Experience or academic training in one or more of the following: Native American & Indigenous Studies, Black
Studies (or equivalent), Gender & Sexuality, or other related fields.
● Experience working on digitization projects, managing digital collections, or other digital library-related work
applying digital preservation practices and standards using current technologies and software.
● Familiarity with applying cataloging and administrative, descriptive, and technical metadata such as PREMIS,
DACS, or MODs for digitized and born digital archival materials desirable but not required.
● Preferred experience with disk imaging, digital forensics tools, web archiving tools (Archive-It) and/or digital
preservation management software
● Demonstrated planning, decision making, and problem-solving skills with superior verbal and written
communication skills.
● Excellent organizational, time, and project management skills.
● Demonstrated ability to work cooperatively in a diverse, dynamic, team setting and to balance multiple
competing priorities.
● Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion at every level of the University.