HEAD OF DIGITAL COLLECTIONS
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities -- University Libraries

The University of Minnesota Libraries seek a Head of Digital 
Collections eager to provide innovative and expert leadership. We 
seek an individual who knows best practices in digital content 
production and management, is an excellent project manager and 
communicator, and is skilled at building partnerships.  This 
individual will have extraordinary opportunities to innovate and 
collaborate on digital projects with the Libraries' Archives and 
Special Collections, which is home to internationally renowned 
collections, and other Libraries and campus entities.  Digital 
collection production plays an essential role in the Libraries 
aspiration to build and reveal collections of distinction.

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CONTEXT:
The Digital Collections unit (DCU) fosters the creation of and access 
to research and scholarly material in digital form from within the 
collections of the Libraries and across the University of Minnesota. 
The DCU, in collaboration with subject specialists and archivists, 
provides expertise and services to departments, labs, and centers of 
the University, supporting the creation, collection, archiving, and 
dissemination of digital content. The DCU supports in-house and 
externally contracted digitization services (including fee-based 
services). The DCU works with Technical Services to develop 
comprehensive metadata standards for digital assets and shares these 
with the campus through documentation, training, and collaborative 
project planning. The DCU monitors and participates in national and 
international initiatives to ensure that local practice is compatible 
with emerging standards in the larger digital collections 
community.  The work of the DCU complements and is closely 
coordinated with the Libraries' Digital Conservancy initiative, which 
develops sustained institutional capacity for access and preservation 
of born-digital information assets.

Digital Collections is a unit within the Information Technology (IT) 
division of the University Libraries and reports to the division's 
Digital Library Development Lab, a department that provides 
programming and architectural support for digital library 
initiatives. Other departments in the IT division include one for 
management of Libraries enterprise systems, and another responsible 
for desktop and server infrastructure and basic technology skills development.

As a member of the Digital Library Federation, a recipient of IMLS 
funds, and a participant in the Minnesota Digital Library Coalition, 
the University of Minnesota Libraries builds tools and collections 
that serve as statewide, national, and international models and 
interact effectively with other digital collections of interest to 
the University community.

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POSITION DESCRIPTION:
The Head of Digital Collections reports to the Director of the 
Digital Library Development Lab in the Libraries' Information 
Technology division, and serves on the Information Technology 
Council.  The Head convenes with the leadership of the Libraries' 
Archives and Special Collections, and Technical Services departments, 
and the Collections Council, as appropriate.

Planning and Development -- the Head develops digital projects for 
the Libraries and seeks external funding sources to continue the 
innovative work of the unit; works closely as a unit within the 
Digital Library Development Lab to develop appropriate systems and 
tools for collection access, management, and preservation; and works 
with the other IT managers, as appropriate.

Campus Partnership & Services -- the Head fosters collaboration and 
exchange with departments, labs, and centers across the University in 
identifying, transforming, storing, and sharing digital works; 
identifies assets in need of DCU services, develops relationships 
with those responsible for managing such assets, shares expertise in 
electronic archiving and metadata with the campus, and builds strong 
working relationships.

Collaboration -- the Head collaborates with other library units to 
ensure that the full range of library expertise and resources are 
applied to distributed efforts to build and manage digital collections.

Research & Sharing -- the Head participates in larger digital library 
community, works to share that knowledge through various forms of 
professional contribution, and seeks opportunities for statewide, 
national, and international partnerships.

Operations Management -- the Head manages the operations budget of 
the DCU, and recruits and supervises its staff.

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QUALIFICATIONS:
Required: Bachelor's degree; at least three years of growing 
responsibility and accomplishment in digitization or digital 
collection production and  development; familiarity with best 
practices for digitization, for metadata development and capture, and 
for archival storage of digital objects; demonstrated understanding 
of emerging standards in digitization and digital library systems; 
demonstrated involvement in the profession; ability to work in a 
complex organization, build and nurture a cross functional team, and 
collaborate with wide variety of partners; supervisory experience; 
excellent written and verbal communication skills. Preferred: An 
ALA-accredited masters degree in Library or Information Science, or 
other relevant advanced degree; Knowledge of and success with 
external funding sources; ability to liaison well with faculty; 
experience partnering with diverse coalitions, experience in 
academic, research library, or cultural heritage environments; 
experience with the creation and capture of a wide variety of digital 
formats; knowledge of the design and development of digital library 
architecture and tools; financial management experience; evidence of 
planning and project management skill.

SALARY AND BENEFITS:
The University Libraries offer a competitive salary commensurate with 
skills and experience. Excellent benefits. This is a full-time, 
12-month, annually renewable Academic Professional position in the 
Information Technology Supervisor classification.

TO APPLY:
Position is available immediately. Position will remain open until 
filled.  Send letter of application, resume, and names and contact 
information of three current professional references to: Libraries 
Human Resources, 499 Wilson Library, University of Minnesota, 309 
19th Ave. So., Minneapolis, MN 55455. Please identify the application 
with UL204.

The University of Minnesota is an Equal Opportunity Educator and Employer.