Digitization Specialist

JOB DESCRIPTION:

Title: Digitization Specialist

Agency: Natural Heritage Trust

Agency Assignment: New York state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation-Division for Historic Preservation

Location: Peebles Island State Park, 1 Delaware Avenue North, Cohoes, NY 

Duration: 2 years of anticipated funding for this position with the potential for extensions

BACKGROUND:

The Natural Heritage Trust (NHT) is a New York State (NYS) public benefit corporation. Established in 1968, the NHT’s mission is to receive and administer gifts, grants and other funds to further public programs for parks, conservation, and historic preservation purposes of the State of New York. The NHT is governed by a four-member Board of Directors comprised of the Commissioner of Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP), the Chair of the State Council of Parks, Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Secretary of State. The NHT is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.  Women, minorities, persons with disabilities and veterans are encouraged to apply. NYS Bureau of Historic Sites (BHS) provides technical support to New York’s state-owned parks and historic sites.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES:

The Digitization Specialist will work to catalog, photograph, and assess/prepare housing for approximately 1300 artworks created by Frederic Edwin Church within the Olana State Historic Site’s collection.

The successful candidate will oversee file management, metadata creation, and integration of digital image files into agency database (TMS Collections) records. The goal of this project is to ensure the catalog records for these objects and related constituents are thorough, consistently documented, all while being in-line with Division standards throughout the collections database. Hard copy records of all materials may be required and should be filed accordingly.

The Digitization Specialist will work under the guidance of the BHS Museum Registrar and will coordinate review for all object records to ensure accuracy, grammar, and consistency with BHS curators and collections management staff. This position will also interface with curatorial staff of The Olana Partnership (TOP), the 501(c)(3) not-for-profit at Olana State Historic Site. Fuller curatorial content written and prepared by other staff may be developed as appropriate, and this position will oversee the implementation of such information into database records and physical files.  

When rehousing is needed, the Digitization Specialist will work with BHS conservators as appropriate to ensure objects are contained safely.

This position will require strong time management skills and the ability to prioritize multiple competing demands. Primary responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Develop timeline and workflow to accomplish completion of 1300+ object documentation, photography, and associated records;
• Photograph collections objects, oversee the file management, metadata creation, and integration of digital image files into collections database and file room;
• Catalog, research, and complete collections records (digitally and hard copy) in-line with museum and agency standards;
• Assess and prepare archival and secure housing for collections objects as appropriate, coordinating with conservation staff as needed;
• Coordinate with other staff members as appropriate.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in art history, history, photography, museum studies, library/information sciences, or other related field and 2 years related experience;
• Demonstrated familiarity with historic object handling as well as documentation standards and digital asset management standards;
• Proficiency with collections management software, TMS Collections preferred;
• Ability to work independently on concurrent projects;
• Excellent interpersonal, organizational, writing, proofreading, and analytical skills, with close attention to detail;
• Ability to work at a computer for long periods of time;
• Experience in using common software applications (e.g.; Word, Access, Excel, Web browsers).

Salary: $63,000 - Full benefits package. This is a full-time position currently funded for a 2-year period with the potential for extensions. Funding for this position has been provided by the Henry Luce Foundation.