[Metadatalibrarians] Project Curator position for Guerrilla Television Project

[Thomas Dousa]

Dear members of the metadata librarians community,
The following limited-term position may hold appeal to catalogers or archivists with an interest in television video recordings and late 20th-century American culture.
Cordially,
Thomas M. Dousa
Metadata Analyst Librarian
The University of Chicago Library
Job Posting: Project Curator for Guerrilla Television Project<https://mediaburn.org/blog/job-posting-project-curator-for-guerrilla-television-project/>
Project Curator, Resurrecting the 1970s Guerrilla Television Movement
Term: 2 year contract, 6/1/22-5/31/24
Remote work is possible, but candidates who are able to work onsite in Chicago at least part time will be given preference.
HOW TO APPLY
Applications will be accepted until 5/15/22, with interviews scheduled between 5/16-5/20/22.
To apply, email a resume and cover letter to info at mediaburn.org.
OVERVIEW
Resurrecting the 1970s Guerrilla Television Movement is a 3-year project led by Media Burn Archive and the University of Chicago, funded by the Council on Library and Information Resources. The project will digitize 1,000+ videotapes produced from 1967-1979 from the collections of several institutions and individuals from across the United States, including Appalshop, Community TV Network, Kartemquin Films, New Orleans Video Access Center, and the Rose Goldsen Archive of Media Art at Cornell University. They represent the "Guerrilla Television" movement, a period when artists, activists, and community organizers utilized the new technology of portable video to create experimental works outside the restricted structures of broadcast television. The project will also create a dedicated portal to present the collections as well as accept submissions of previously digitized work. It will represent the first time that the majority of these videos have been accessible to the public.
More details on the project here: https://mediaburn.org/blog/resurrecting-the-1970s-guerrilla-television-movement/
POSITION SUMMARY
The Project Curator will be joining the team one year in to the three-year project. Their primary collaborators will be the two co-Principal Investigators at Media Burn and University of Chicago Library, the Digitization Technician at Media Burn, the Metadata Specialist at the University of Chicago Library, and the team of website developers at the University of Chicago Library.
The Curator will be responsible for creating access to the digitized collections through archival description, research, and outreach. This will include creating metadata, researching video contents, responding to reference requests, and conducting community outreach for the Guerilla Television video collection. The Curator works closely with all project partners to preserve, make accessible, and promote the use of the video collection across a diverse group of users for teaching, learning, exhibition, programming and scholarship.
The ideal candidate will have the following qualifications:

  *   Familiarity with the history of independent media, particularly the Guerrilla Television movement.
  *   Connections to communities are underrepresented by, or lack connections to, dominant media.
  *   Experience cataloging audiovisual materials.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

  *   Watching all of the digitized project tapes and creating detailed metadata and descriptions.
  *   Communicating with project partners to research the provenance and content of project videotapes.
  *   Providing reference services to researchers.
  *   Participating in planning meetings with teams at the University of Chicago Library to develop the project website.
  *   Coordinating and setting the agenda for all-partner quarterly meetings.
  *   Creating access to the collection and improving efficiencies by pursuing funding and strategic partnerships to sustain the project beyond the three-year term.
  *   Promoting the collection and engaging the community-at-large through various outreach initiatives and activities potentially including, but not limited to, the curation of physical and digital exhibitions, film screenings, speakers, panel discussions, and workshops/seminars. This may be done in collaboration with the University of Chicago, project partner organizations and/or other community organizations.
PREFERRED EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

  *   Master's degree or advanced certificate in a relevant field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant work experience.
  *   At least three years of experience working with analog and digital moving image collections.
  *   Experience cataloging archival moving image materials.
  *   Knowledge of analog and digital moving image formats and respective preservation and access needs/challenges.
  *   Experience navigating copyright, licensing, and intellectual property issues.
  *   Knowledge of video production outputs and workflows.
  *   Demonstrated success supporting and advocating for diversity, equity, inclusion or accessibility values in professional or personal capacities.
  *   Experience curating public screenings and events.
  *   Expressed interest in collection subject matters.
  *   Superior interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills.
  *   Excellent organization and analytic skills.
  *   Ability to work independently and as a member of a team.
  *   Ability to identify moving image formats, techniques, and materials.
  *   Experience with Adobe Premiere, Apple Final Cut, or similar video editing application preferred.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

  *   Perform computer-based tasks.
  *   Visual acuity including color vision and fair auditory acuity.
WORKING CONDITIONS

  *   Candidates who are able to work on-site at Media Burn's office in Chicago at least part of the time will be strongly preferred.
  *   The office is located in an ADA-accessible building, including reserved parking spaces, entry ramp, and elevator.
  *   Flexible schedule.
  *   Remote work is possible.
  *   Casual dress code.
ELIGIBILITY
Media Burn strongly encourages candidates from diverse and/or underrepresented communities and backgrounds to apply.
COMPENSATION
40-hour work week with a salary of $44,000, with 4 percent cost of living increase in year two. Flexible PTO policy.
COVID-19 INFORMATION
In order to keep staff and visitors as safe and healthy as possible, all staff will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 prior to beginning in-person work. We will continue to monitor local case rates and will transition to remote work should conditions require it.