Cultural Heritage

Digital Cultural Heritage Librarian Vacancy [Applications close – Aug 4th]

Digital Cultural Heritage Librarian

JOB SYNOPSIS

The University of Limerick Library is seeking an enthusiastic and innovative Digital Cultural Heritage Librarian (Assistant Librarian Grade I) to play a key role in developing and delivering digital cultural heritage services, with a particular initial focus on the Bolton Library. The post holder will combine strong technical and project management skills with a commitment to widening access to rare and distinctive collections in ways that support learning, teaching, research and public engagement. Working within the Digital Scholarship and Systems team, under the guidance of the Digital Services Librarian, and in close partnership with Special Collections and Archives, this role will lead on the day-to-day planning and delivery of digitisation workflows and the operational management of digital cultural heritage assets, ensuring that unique collections are discoverable, usable, and preserved for the long term. The Digital Cultural Heritage Librarian is a supervisory role and will work collaboratively with colleagues across the library and wider University to deliver an excellent, user-centred service. This is a professional role that requires specialist knowledge of digital cultural heritage, digitisation, digital asset management and preservation. The role holder will demonstrate strong professional judgement, effective people and project management skills, and the ability to contribute expert input to service development while operating within an established strategic and reporting framework.

Contract Type: Permanent

Salary Scale: €47,176 – €72,821 p.a.

University of Limerick is a research-led, energetic and enterprising institution with a proud record of innovation and excellence in education and scholarships. We value creativity, curiosity and excellence in our inclusive community which is committed to social good. Our motto Eagna chun Gnímh translates as Wisdom for Action reflecting our mission to contribute to the discovery of new knowledge for a better world.

Informal enquiries regarding the post may be directed to:

Mr Caleb Derven, Head, Digital Scholarship & Systems, Library & Information Services Division, University of Limerick, Email: caleb.derven@ul.ie

The closing date for receipt of applications is Tuesday, 4th August 2026. Applications must be completed online before 12 noon, Irish Standard Time on the closing date.

Further information for applicants and application material is available online from: University of Limerick Vacancies

We are committed to upholding the principles of fairness, equality, and transparency in pay, in line with the EU Pay Transparency Directive (Directive (EU) 2023/970)

The case for Public AI: making it happen with cultural heritage [Europeana Report Published]

The case for Public AI: making it happen with cultural heritage

Developed through iteration and in collaboration with over 400 professionals of the data space and the Europeana Initiative community, the paper presents a shared vision for how the cultural heritage sector can contribute to a more democratic, pluralistic and publicly accountable AI ecosystem in Europe. 

As AI reshapes how knowledge, culture and history are produced, accessed and interpreted, this paper explores how the cultural heritage sector, supported by the data space, can help build Public AI in Europe — AI that serves the public good, not just commercial interests.

The paper sets out a clear and ambitious role for the data space in turning this vision into reality: from leading by example and applying AI in line with Public AI principles across our technology stack, to acting as a rights broker, trusted infrastructure, literacy engine, technical partner and collective voice for the cultural heritage sector.  

Read the paper if you are curious to know:

  • Why is cultural heritage data so valuable for AI training?
  • Beyond data, how can cultural heritage institutions and professionals help shape an alternative AI approach in Europe?
  • What opportunities is the data space exploring to make this happen, and what challenges must we overcome?
  • What is Public AI, why is it gaining traction in policy debates, and how can it address structural imbalances in today’s AI ecosystem? 
  • What is the state of Europe’s AI landscape, and what role can our sector play in it? What partnerships are needed —and under what conditions— for us to play that role effectively?
  • What are the risks of inaction — for Europe, for the future of AI systems, for the open knowledge ecosystem and for our sector?

Read the paper in full

Key Insights

x4 Funded PhDs at Trinity College Dublin [Closing date June 26th]

Call for Applications – Funded PhD in Digital Humanities

Click on the hyperlinks below to download the call for four doctoral students will be funded under this award with specialisations across the domains of:

This unique multidisciplinary approach will provide the students with invaluable experiences and skills extending far beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries, preparing them to become leaders in academia or industry settings. 

Galaxy – Digital Research Methods Training [Free, online, register by May 16]

Galaxy – Digital Research Methods Training online

We would like to draw your attention to the Galaxy Training Academy 2026, a free, international training programme focused on open, reproducible digital research methods, with particular relevance for arts, humanities, and cultural heritage research.

This training is relevant if you:

• work with textual, audiovisual, or cultural heritage data;

• are interested in practical approaches to digital humanities, text analysis, or machine learning;

• would like access to shared, non‑commercial computational infrastructure for research and teaching experiments;

• are interested in FAIR research practices for the digital arts and humanities.

About the Galaxy Training Academy 2026

The Academy is organised by the Galaxy Training Network, a long‑running international community that develops and delivers training for the Galaxy open‑source research infrastructure, which is widely used and supported across the global research community.

Dates: 18–22 May 2026 (Registration deadline: 16 May)

Format: Fully asynchronous (no live sessions)

Cost: Free

More details: https://training.galaxyproject.org/training-material/events/2026-05-18-galaxy-academy.html

The Academy is open to researchers at all career stages, including postgraduate students, doctoral researchers and early‑career academics. 

Participants work through a structured set of video‑based and text‑based tutorials at their own pace. No prior experience with Galaxy is required, although more experienced users are also welcome.

Topics

Recommended tracks for community members include: Digital Humanities; From Zero to Hero with Python Machine Learning.

Indicative topics in the Digital Humanities track include:

• Introduction to Digital Humanities workflows in Galaxy

• Researching cultural data using OpenRefine

• Text mining Chinese newspaper archives

• Automated transcription of audio and video materials

INFINITY Project Survey – Cultural Heritage Collections (re)use [Deadline April 30]

INFINITY Project Surveys – Cultural Heritage Collections (re)use

Do you manage or reuse cultural heritage collections in your work? Then take one of our INFINITY (https://www.dataspace-culturalheritage.eu/en/projects/infinity) project surveys to share your perspectives and contribute to the future of the digital creative economy. It will take 10 – 15 minutes to complete and the deadline for submissions is 30 April 2026.

Take the survey on collections management: https://survey.zohopublic.eu/zs/b6CAyu

The first survey aims to gather data about collections management practices and information about licensing and reuse of cultural heritage digital objects from the perspective of staff at a cultural heritage institution. If you are a cultural heritage professional working in Cultural Heritage Digital Objects (digitised or born-digital cultural heritage collections) collections management we encourage you to share your thoughts here!

Take the survey on reuse: https://survey.zohopublic.eu/zs/4oBybV

The second survey aims to understand how copyright, licensing and business practices affect real-world reuse of digital heritage, helping identify challenges and opportunities for the creative sector in Europe. If you are a professional working primarily in the creative industries and reusing Cultural Heritage Digital Objects we want to hear from you here!