Title: Digital scholarly editing and memory institutions
Application deadline: 1 December 2015
Start of the fellowship: 1 March 2016
Duration: 1 year
Location: Borås, Sweden
Employment rate: 100%
Local announcement: http://www.hb.se/en/About-UB/Work-at-UB/ (scroll down and select “Senior Researcher DiXit”)
General application procedure: http://dixit.uni-koeln.de/fellowships/application/
Eligibility criteria: http://dixit.uni-koeln.de/fellowships/eligibility/
Contact: Dr. Mats Dahlström, mats.dahlstrom(at)hb.se, phone + (46) 33 435 44 21, or Deputy Head of School Åsa Söderlind, phone +(46) 33 435 44 02
Institution
The Swedish School of Library and Information Science is a department at the University of Borås. It is the largest department within the field in Sweden and comprises education at both undergraduate, graduate, advanced and research levels. Degree programmes at the undergraduate level are offered in librarianship, strategic information and communication and web editing & design. They also have a Master’s degree programme and, an active Ph.D. programme.
Research is often carried out in co-operation with external organisations and professionals, as well as other departments of the University College of Borås and other universities within and outside Sweden.
Project
Digitized collections in libraries and archives are produced, developed and maintained for different target audiences. In research libraries, the aims, tasks and outcomes of these projects can vary considerably. Depending on the parameters of the projects, the resources may have varying degrees of detail, documentation, presentation formats, accessibility, and measures to support trustworthiness and authenticity. Further, in digitizing and making available such materials, there is often a diversity of agents involved. For instance, many libraries and archives rely on external agents for parts of the production process in the form of e.g. outsourcing. Such agents might bring even further sets of quality parameters and measures. This might have significant bearing on the value of the digitized resource, and the level of post-process work, use and re-use that can be performed with the digitized material within digital edition projects and other scholarly work.
What measures and methods are implemented by digitizing memory institutions in support of trustworthiness and authenticity of the reproductions? How do these measures align with those taken by other agents such as commercial enterprises in charge of parts of the process? And how and to what extent are these measures and methods maintained consistently throughout projects versus being renegotiated, possibly affecting the scholarly value of the digitized resource?
Objectives
The study of this Experienced Researcher project aims to critically explore the range of measures and methods for establishing trustworthiness and authenticity of digital reproductions in libraries and archives, particularly by looking at cases where levels and measures are negotiated between such memory institutions and external agents hired to perform parts of the process.
Tasks and methodology
The specific methods, parameters and criteria for the study will depend on the interests and skills of the researcher in agreement with the supervisor and the National Library in Stockholm as associate partner in the DiXiT project. Methods might however take on the form of comparative and evaluative analyses of digitization projects, observation studies and interviews. The National Library in Stockholm has the possibility to offer the environment and empirical cases relevant to the study. Methods might also include desktop-based applications or experiments with technologies and tools relevant to the issue of establishing trustworthiness and authenticity of digital reproductions.
Secondments
Suggested secondment: periods of work trips from Borås to the National Library (Kungliga Biblioteket) in Stockholm.
Formal Requirements:
Within DiXiT, the applicant for the position of Senior Researcher must:
- be in possession of a doctoral degree or have at least four years of full-time equivalent research experience.
- also have less than five years of full-time equivalent research experience.
- be fluent in English
There is also a mobility rule within the DiXiT project which means that the applicant of the position as Senior Researcher at The Swedish School of Library and Information Science in Borås must not have resided or carried out his/her main activity (work, studies etc) in the country of his/her host organization (Sweden) for more than 12 months in 3 years immediately prior to his/her recruitment. Short stays, such as holidays, are not taken into account.
Application
Apply for the position via the Swedish advertisement on “Ansök” at the bottom of the local announcement: http://www.hb.se/Om-hogskolan/Jobba-hos-oss/?rmpage=job&rmjob=51&rmlang=SE
Clearly indicate the position you seek in your application and provide the reference number. The following documents must be attached to your application:
- Personal letter
- CV with reference details
- A short working plan for the intended research project
- Certificates/qualifications and other such documents you wish to refer to
No supplementary information may be submitted digitally after the final application date.
In addition, the mandatory DiXiT application form has to be filled in. It can be found here: http://dixit.uni-koeln.de/fellowships/application/. Questions may be directed at dixit-info(at)uni-koeln.de