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Assistant Professor, Digital Stewardship Librarian

Western Kentucky University

Bowling Green, KY

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JOB DETAILS
SKILLS
Audio Hardware, Best Practices, Cataloguing, College Level Faculty, Communication Skills, Computer Forensics, Digital Asset Management, Documentation, Emerging Technology, Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), Establish Priorities, Inventory Management, Leadership, Legal, Library and Information Science, Metadata, Multitasking, Policy Development, Problem Solving Skills, Special Collections, Stewardship, Systems Administration/Management, Team Player, Time Management, Training/Teaching
LOCATION
Bowling Green, KY
POSTED
5 days ago
Job Description:

Position Overview

Western Kentucky University (WKU) Libraries invites applications for a tenure-eligible faculty librarian to serve as the Digital Stewardship Librarian within the Department of Library Collections & Discovery. This position plays a critical role in advancing WKU Libraries' stewardship of distinctive cultural heritage collections by ensuring their long-term preservation, bridging traditional archiving while transforming them into accessible, discoverable, and usable resources.

Reporting to the Department Chair, the Digital Stewardship Librarian provides leadership across the full lifecycle of collections, including appraisal, accessioning, arrangement, description, preservation, and access. Working collaboratively with colleagues across Collections & Discovery this position aligns people, workflows, and technologies to create a cohesive preservation-to-access pipeline for born-digital and digitized materials.

Principal Responsibilities. The following duties are customary for this position, but additional responsibilities may be assigned based on institutional needs:
  • Oversee and manage digital asset lifecycles, including appraisal, accessioning, metadata creation, digital transfer, ingestion, transfer to preservation repositories, format migration for obsolete media, and ongoing storage monitoring.
  • Provide intellectual stewardship and curation for Special Collections manuscript holdings by setting processing priorities, coordinating arrangement and description according to professional standards, and directing staff workflows for manuscript processing and digitization.
  • Advise the Department Chair on collection strategies, including the transfer, arrangement, description, and stewardship of manuscript materials, ensuring that legal, ethical, and technical requirements are met.
  • Apply professional archival and digital curation standards to develop guidelines, policies, and repeatable workflows that support sustainable stewardship and access.
  • Recommend, implement, and assess digital forensics tools to support secure capture, evaluation, and, when necessary, redaction or access-restriction workflows.
  • Evaluate and pilot emerging technologies and tools to improve digital preservation, management, and stewardship practices.
  • Create and edit finding aids and other digital surrogates in accordance with archival standards and best practices.
  • Bridge preservation and access by ensuring that stewardship workflows and technologies result in materials that are discoverable, usable, and responsibly accessible to users.
  • In collaboration with the Senior Cataloging Librarian and the Library Systems Administrator, manage access to digitized and born-digital collections through the library's discovery platforms.
  • Coordinate with internal and external stakeholders to support the visibility, promotion, and use of digital collections.
  • Coordinate digital initiatives by aligning departmental priorities, workflows, and expertise to deliver an integrated and sustainable preservation-to-access pipeline.
  • Provide training, documentation, and communication through reports, presentations, and hands-on workshops for library faculty and staff on digital stewardship, born-digital processing, and access workflows.
  • Provide reference assistance to patrons.
  • Engage in teaching, research/creative activity, and university, professional, and public service in accordance with departmental criteria for faculty rank and promotion.
  • Assist with special projects, including but not limited to inventory, collection maintenance, and related departmental initiatives.
Requirements:
  • Master's degree in Library and Information Science from an ALA-accredited program.
  • Demonstrated experience working in archives or special collections with digital projects
  • Demonstrated ability to work both independently and in a highly collaborative setting, document and solve problems in a timely manner, and prioritize multiple projects.
  • Demonstrated proficiency with digital preservation and collection management platforms such as AtoM, Digital Commons, DSpace, and Alma Digital. Experience operating digitization equipment, including audio capture hardware (e.g., Sound Blaster), book and flatbed scanners, and cameras used in digital preservation workflows.
  • Strong communication and collaboration skills with an ability to maintain effective relationships with faculty, staff, students, administrators, and other key stakeholders
Additional Information:

Faculty rank and salary are commensurate with experience and qualifications and are governed by the tenure and promotion guidelines of the Department of Library Collections & Discovery. This is a 10-month, tenure-eligible faculty appointment with opportunities for promotion in rank.

Kentucky state law requires all public institutions of postsecondary education to conduct pre-employment criminal background checks to determine suitability for employment.

Western Kentucky University (WKU) is committed to a policy and practice of providing equal employment and educational opportunities to all individuals. In accordance with Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Revised 1992, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, no form of discrimination or harassment will be tolerated at WKU on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, creed, religion, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, marital status, age, uniformed services, veteran status, genetic information, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, or physical or mental disability in admission to career and technical education programs and/or activities, or employment practices.

Persons with disabilities, who need reasonable accommodations to participate in the application and/or selection process, should notify the office of Institutional Equity. To request an accommodation, report a complaint, or ask questions regarding WKU's Discrimination and Harassment Policy (#0.2040), please contact Ms. Ena Demir, Executive Director/Title IX Coordinator via email at ena.demir@wku.edu or by phone at (270) 745-6867. Ms. Demir is also responsible for coordinating the University's response to complaints related to sex and gender harassment. Additional information regarding Title IX is accessible via WKU's website.

Information concerning educational programs offered by WKU are provided at:

For information related to job postings, please email employment@wku.edu.

Application Instructions:

The following items must be submitted through this electronic talent management system by April 19, 2026, although expressions of interest may be considered until the position is filled:
  • Letter of Intent
  • Curriculum Vita
  • Unofficial Transcripts

Names and contact information of three reference providers will be collected during the application process. Reference letters will be requested by the Search Committee through an online process at a later date.

You will receive email confirmation once you have successfully completed the application process.

About the Company

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Western Kentucky University