Engineering the Future of the Past

Recently, I was asked to present at the MIT Libraries all-staff meeting on the topic, “Defining the Role of Digital Archivist.”  It was a great opportunity to share with colleagues examples of what we have accomplished during the past year and also to speak to the point of defining the role of digital archivist at MIT Libraries. During the 30 minute presentation I talked about what archivists do on a day-to-day basis and how the role of the digital archivist supports and innovates on that work as we deal with digital collections.

Presentation Talking Points:

• The Roles and Responsibilities of all archivists also hold true for digital archivists
• Prerequisite knowledge and experience for a digital archivist may include additional technology and technical skills
• Digital Preservation is likely to be included in the responsibilities of a digital archivist
• Defining the role of digital archivist across our profession can differ widely
• At MIT the digital archivist’s role includes: increasing the Institute Archives capacity to ingest, appraise, organize, store, protect, and provide access to digital material (digitized and born-digital)
• The role is dedicated to implementation, strategic planning, and building a knowledge and skill base for managing digital material specifically within the Institute Archive and Special Collections and for the MIT Libraries generally.
• Roles and Responsibilities of the digital archivist include those in the following areas:
• Donor Relations
• Preparing for Ingest
• Manage and Protect
• Integrate Digital into Practice
• Access and Use

My presentation slides are attached to this posting.  Please take a look — I’m glad to hear your comments.