Digital Archival Associate

Job Details: Job Location: Kentucky Campus - Wilmore, KY, Salary Range: Undisclosed, Position Title: Digital Archival Associate
Department: Library, Information, and Technology Services (LITS) – Strategic Collections and Archives
Reports To: Archivist
FLSA Classification: Non-Exempt 
Hours: 37.5 hours per week; normal full-time weekday schedule

Position Summary

The Digital Archival Associate is a hands-on archival professional who independently manages routine approved digitization projects and serves as the primary day-to-day administrator of the Seminary’s private institutional repository. Working under the Archivist, the Associate converts analog documents, photographs, audiovisual recordings, microforms, and other approved resources into well-documented digital assets; processes born-digital accessions under the Archivist’s direction; coordinates annual records collection from Seminary offices; performs quality control and repository ingest; maintains metadata, permissions, file integrity, and preservation records; and protects private, restricted, copyrighted, and confidential materials according to established archival policies.

Essential Functions and Key Responsibilities

Christian Faith and Missional Commitment

Demonstrates a mature and active Christian faith consistent with the Wesleyan-Holiness identity and mission of Asbury Theological Seminary.
Affirms and supports the Seminary’s Statement of Faith, Ethos Statement, Mission Statement, and applicable community standards.
Participates appropriately in the worshiping and spiritual life of the Seminary community.
Integrates Christian character, stewardship, integrity, patience, accuracy, confidentiality, and respect into archival work and constituent relationships.
Recognizes the preservation of the Seminary’s institutional memory and historical resources as service to its teaching, scholarship, mission, and community.

Routine Digitization Project Management

Independently manages routine, approved digitization projects from material intake and condition review through conversion, quality control, metadata creation, repository ingest, and final documentation.
Confirms project scope, priorities, source materials, required outputs, naming conventions, metadata expectations, access restrictions, preservation requirements, and completion criteria with the Archivist.
Develops practical work plans, production sequences, tracking records, equipment assignments, quality-control steps, and schedules.
Maintains intellectual and physical control of materials throughout preparation, conversion, processing, return, and storage.
Documents project status, exceptions, technical decisions, preservation actions, errors, and completion accurately.
Escalates unusual, sensitive, confidential, fragile, damaged, obsolete, legally restricted, or technically complex materials to the Archivist.
Does not independently change collection priorities, archival policies, appraisal decisions, or approved project scope.

Analog-to-Digital Conversion

Digitizes approved documents, photographs, negatives, slides, audio recordings, videotapes, microforms, and other analog formats.
Prepares and handles source materials carefully according to established archival and preservation procedures.
Operates approved scanners, cameras, audio and video conversion systems, playback equipment, computers, and related digitization tools.
Creates preservation masters, production files, and access derivatives in approved formats and resolutions.
Performs image, audio, and video capture; cropping; orientation; color or tonal adjustment; file processing; transcoding; and other authorized corrections without altering historical meaning or evidential integrity.
Performs systematic quality control for completeness, legibility, focus, color, sound, synchronization, technical specifications, file naming, and metadata accuracy.
Refers fragile, damaged, rare, unstable, obsolete, or unsupported formats to the Archivist for specialized handling, conservation review, or approved external conversion.
Maintains clean, orderly, secure, and preservation-conscious digitization workspaces.

Private Institutional Repository Administration

Serves as the primary day-to-day administrator of the Seminary’s private institutional repository.
Performs approved file ingest, collection organization, metadata entry and maintenance, user-account administration, permission assignment, routine troubleshooting, and usage reporting.
Applies established collection structures, metadata schemas, controlled vocabularies, naming conventions, identifiers, relationships, and descriptive practices.
Maintains accurate links among source materials, digital files, repository records, restrictions, rights information, and preservation documentation.
Provides approved internal users with appropriate assistance in locating, understanding, and accessing authorized repository resources.
Documents repository configuration, workflows, permissions, recurring issues, and operational changes.
Recognizes that the Archivist retains authority for archival policy, appraisal, access restrictions, collection priorities, and exceptional access decisions.
Does not independently publish, release, distribute, or grant external access to repository materials without the Archivist’s approval.

Born-Digital Accessioning and Institutional Records Coordination

Processes born-digital accessions under the direction of the Archivist and according to established appraisal, transfer, description, preservation, and access requirements.
Receives, inventories, verifies, organizes, documents, and ingests approved born-digital records while preserving provenance, original order, file relationships, and available transfer information.
Coordinates the annual collection of institutional records from Seminary offices according to schedules, priorities, instructions, and requirements established by the Archivist.
Communicates with designated office representatives concerning annual submissions, approved transfer methods, required documentation, file organization, deadlines, and follow-up.
Tracks office participation, submissions, outstanding records, transfer status, exceptions, and completion and reports unresolved matters to the Archivist.
Assists the Archivist and Seminary offices in documenting and maintaining departmental records-retention schedules, inventories, transfer procedures, and related guidance.
Provides practical training and assistance to Seminary offices concerning repository submission, file preparation, naming, organization, transfer, and approved records-retention practices.
Does not independently appraise records, authorize destruction, establish retention periods, alter legal or institutional requirements, or accept exceptional transfers without the Archivist’s approval.

Digital Preservation and Technical Stewardship

Monitors file integrity, checksums, storage status, backups, preservation formats, ingest results, fixity reports, and repository alerts according to established procedures.
Maintains preservation masters separately from access derivatives and protects files from unauthorized alteration, deletion, disclosure, or distribution.
Identifies corrupted, missing, duplicated, improperly named, unsupported, inaccessible, or at-risk files and initiates approved corrective action.
Coordinates repository, storage, backup, security, authentication, integration, and other technical issues with the Archivist and appropriate LITS systems personnel.
Maintains equipment logs, calibration information, conversion settings, format profiles, storage records, and preservation-action documentation.
Participates in approved testing, migrations, upgrades, recovery exercises, and workflow improvements.
Does not independently modify infrastructure, security controls, retention rules, backup configurations, or repository-wide settings outside assigned authority.

Rights, Restrictions, Privacy, and Access Control

Applies established copyright, donor-restriction, privacy, confidentiality, records-management, retention, and access-control requirements.
Reviews available rights and restriction information before digitization, ingest, description, access assignment, or reproduction.
Assigns approved internal permissions and restrictions accurately and verifies that repository access reflects current authorization.
Protects personally identifiable information, confidential institutional records, donor-restricted materials, credentials, and nonpublic repository content.
Refers uncertain, conflicting, incomplete, sensitive, or exceptional rights and access questions to the Archivist before proceeding.
Maintains appropriate records of approvals, restrictions, access changes, requests, reproductions, and disclosures.

Workflow Improvement, Documentation, and Reporting

Follows digitization, metadata, preservation, repository, accessibility, documentation, security, and quality-control standards established by the Archivist.
Identifies recurring errors, workflow inefficiencies, equipment limitations, format risks, metadata inconsistencies, storage concerns, training needs, and preservation priorities.
Researches practical alternatives and submits evidence-based recommendations to the Archivist.
Maintains accurate production statistics, project records, ingest logs, quality-control results, repository usage data, and status reports.
Provides the Archivist with timely updates concerning progress, exceptions, risks, unresolved issues, access concerns, and recommendations.
Contributes operational evidence for departmental planning, institutional assessment, accreditation, historical research, and continuous improvement.

Other Responsibilities

Participates in LITS planning, assessment, accreditation support, and continuous-improvement activities as assigned.
Maintains current knowledge of relevant professional standards, technologies, and practices through appropriate professional development.
Performs other duties consistent with the scope and level of the position as assigned.

Financial Responsibility/Authority

Holds no purchasing, contracting, budget-management, or financial-approval authority.
Identifies needs involving digitization equipment, repository software, digital storage, preservation supplies, repairs, contractors, vendors, external conversion, and related services.
Prepares recommendations describing need, expected benefit, urgency, cost considerations, compatibility, preservation impact, and operational implications.
Submits all equipment, software, storage, preservation-supply, repair, contractor, and vendor recommendations to the Archivist.
Does not commit funds, approve purchases, execute agreements, retain contractors, authorize vendor work, release materials for external conversion, or represent approval.
Uses Seminary equipment, software, storage, supplies, and archival resources responsibly and reports loss, damage, security concerns, licensing issues, or anticipated costs.

Direct Supervision and Project/Team Leadership or Training

Has no direct reports and does not conduct employee performance evaluations.
Provides task-level direction, training, and quality-control guidance to authorized student workers, interns, volunteers, temporary personnel, and approved contractors assisting with digitization or repository work.
Reports performance, conduct, confidentiality, preservation, security, or quality concerns to the Archivist and does not hire, discipline, retain, dismiss, or make formal personnel commitments.

Tools and Equipment

Flatbed, sheet-fed, book, film, and photographic digitization equipment as available; audio/video capture systems; image, audio, video, OCR, and metadata software; digital repositories and preservation storage; checksumming and file-management tools; archival supplies; library systems; and standard office equipment.
Qualifications: Education, Certification, Training, Experience, and Skills

A bachelor’s degree in archival studies, library or information science, history, digital humanities, media preservation, or a related field is preferred but not required.
At least two years of relevant archival, digitization, repository, library, records-management, imaging, or audiovisual-conversion experience is preferred but not required.
Position-specific training in approved digitization equipment, metadata practices, preservation workflows, and repository systems will be provided on the job.
Basic computer proficiency and the ability to learn new equipment, software, metadata practices, file formats, and repository systems are required.
Demonstrated attention to detail, organization, confidentiality, careful material handling, accurate documentation, and consistent completion of repetitive quality-control work are required.
Ability to independently manage routine approved projects, follow technical procedures, recognize exceptions, and seek guidance appropriately is required.
Strong written communication, problem-solving, judgment, teamwork, and constituent-service skills are required.
Experience with scanning, digital photography, audio or video conversion, born-digital accessioning, records retention, metadata, digital preservation, archival description, or institutional repositories is preferred.
Demonstrated commitment to the mission, Statement of Faith, and community standards of Asbury Theological Seminary is required.

Work Schedule and Availability

Maintains a normal full-time weekday schedule aligned with established departmental operating hours.
No evening or weekend work is expected for this position.
Coordinates planned absences, project schedules, and service coverage with the Archivist.

Physical and Archival-Handling Requirements

Handles fragile, rare, aging, damaged, and potentially sensitive archival materials carefully and according to established procedures.
Works for prolonged periods at computers, scanners, cameras, audiovisual-conversion stations, and quality-control workstations.
Performs repeated keyboarding, scanning, material positioning, fine visual inspection, and attentive listening to audiovisual content.
Safely lifts, carries, positions, and moves archival boxes, books, media, supplies, and digitization equipment weighing up to approximately 40 pounds.
May bend, reach, kneel, stand, or use approved carts and step stools while retrieving, transporting, and positioning materials.
Follows archival-handling, electrical, ergonomic, equipment-safety, privacy, security, and workplace-safety practices.
Communicates any required workplace accommodation through the appropriate Employee Services (Human Resources) process.