UCLA Ralph J. Bunche Center Digital Archivist

The Ralph J. Bunche Center is an Organized Research Unit (ORU) within the Institute of American Cultures (IAC), which houses the four ethnic studies research centers based at the University of California, Los Angeles. The Library and Media Center (LMC) supports the mission of the Bunche Center by supporting research that expands knowledge of African American history and culture and investigates problems that affect people of African descent. The LMC is one of several affiliated libraries at UCLA. Affiliated status allows the Bunche Library and Media Center to independently manage collections and services for its core constituency.
The LMC collection has over 8,000 monograph, serial, archival and audio visual materials on African, African American, and Caribbean history and culture. The book collection includes monographs, series and reference materials, and is supplemented with subscriptions to academic journals, popular magazines, and African American newspapers. The audio/visual collection consists of audiocassette tapes, VHS tapes and DVD’s. Its content includes classic movies, documentaries, campus events, and music. Archives collections in the Bunche LMC currently include vertical files, personal papers, and records.

Position Duties:
With support from the Mellon Foundation and in collaboration with UCLA’s ethnic studies research centers, the Bunche Center is currently building the necessary infrastructure to maintain digital archives and host a wide range of digital collections related to Black life. The Bunche Center is hiring a Digital Archivist to guide and lead this initiative. This work will include developing, documenting, and implementing digital workflows to ingest, catalog, preserve, access, store, and secure current and future materials held by the Bunche Library. The Archivist will collaborate with UCLA Library Special Collections staff to process hybrid manuscript collections and create finding aids using EAD and DACS. The Archivist will participate in the identification, conception, development, and implementation of grant applications in support of the Bunche Library’s digital initiatives, including collaborations with UCLA’s ethnic studies libraries. The Archivist will stay abreast of issues and tools related to the stewardship of digital materials and represent the Bunche Library at campus as well as national, regional, and local committees, conferences, and forums on matters relevant to digital collections management. The Digital Archivist will work with the Bunche Librarian and the library’s stakeholders to create and update the Library’s Digital Preservation Policy. The digital archivist may supervise student/staff workers.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to the following:
● Develop and document digital workflows in order to support the preservation, access, and security of digital materials; recommend and utilize digital processing tools and advise on preservation strategies and storage needs for digital materials.
● Collaborate with the Center Librarian to realize and implement discovery and access initiatives for digital materials.
● Collaborate with Library Special Collections staff to process hybrid manuscript collections and create finding aids using EAD and DACS.
● Participate in the conception and development of grant applications in support of digital initiatives.
● Stay abreast of issues and tools related to the stewardship of digital materials; represent the UCLA and national, regional, and local committees and forums on matters relevant to digital collections management.
● Work with content stewards across the IAC libraries to develop/support procedures and digital workflows.
● Work with the project managers and metadata stakeholders to create collection models and metadata plans for batch ingest.
● Develop and implement the Bunche Library’s content accessibility, metadata, and preservation strategy.
● Work with Bunche Librarian to expand the center’s digital collections.
● Develop and document workflows and best practices for implementing digital archives at UCLA ethnic studies centers.
● Work with the Center Librarian to create/update the Libraries’ Digital Preservation Policy.
● Collaborate with IAC librarians on grant projects.
● Provide guidance and leadership for the digital stewardship of the Bunche Library’s specialized and general collections including planning, implementation, and assessment of current systems and infrastructure, and new technologies.

General Information
Professional librarians at UCLA are academic appointees. Librarians at UCLA are represented by an exclusive bargaining agent, University Council – American Federation of Teachers (UC-AFT). This is a represented position.
They are entitled to appropriate professional leave, two days per month of vacation leave, one day per month of sick leave, and all other benefits granted to non-faculty academic personnel. The University has an excellent retirement system and sponsors a variety of group health, dental, vision, and life insurance plans in addition to other benefits. Relocation assistance may be provided.
Appointees to the librarian series at UC shall have professional backgrounds that demonstrate a high degree of creativity, teamwork, and flexibility. Such background will normally include a professional degree from an ALA accredited library and information science graduate program. In addition to professional competence and quality of service within the library in the primary job, advancement in the librarian series requires professional involvement and contributions outside of the library, and/or university and community service, and/or scholarly activities. Candidates must show evidence or promise of such contributions. The successful candidate will be committed to promoting and enhancing diversity through engagement with and promotion of the UCLA Principles of Community (http://www.ucla.edu/about/mission-and-values)

Required Qualifications
• American Library Association-accredited MLIS, or equivalent advanced degree and relevant experience
• Two or more years of demonstrated professional experience preserving, processing, describing, and delivering digital and hybrid archival materials in an academic, research, or community library setting
• Knowledge of archival theory and practices
• Knowledge of technologies and systems developed or adopted by the archival community for the management of and access to digital materials
• Knowledge of metadata and other standards relevant to the control of digital materials (such as OAIS, EAD, DACS, Dublin Core, MODS, NDSA levels of digital preservation, and Preservation Metadata: Implementation Standard (PREMIS))
• Excellent organizational and project management skills.

Preferred Qualifications:
• Excellent communication and analytic skills, including the ability to work well in a team- based environment
• Experience supervising students and paraprofessional staff
• Demonstrated experience and skill using technologies and strategies related to digital forensics and digital preservation
• Experience with digital preservation tools, such as Preservica, Bitcurator, Bag-It, and Archive-it
• Experience with managing the use of preservation services vendors
• Ability to maintain archival information packages within the digital preservation system and work with partners to sync preservation and develop a series of system audits, planning and execution of format migrations, or other remediation practices as needed/required
• Ability to work with library stakeholders to develop, support, and adjust workflows
• Experience with participating in or managing mid- to-large scale digitization projects
• Experience with community archives initiatives
• Demonstrated interest in Black Studies or ethnic studies
• Experience with identifying, developing, and implementing grants