The Library of Congress, Office of Strategic Initiatives and the Institute of Museum and Library Services are pleased to announce the official open call for applications for the 2015 National Digital Stewardship Residency, to be held in the Washington, DC area. The application period is from December 17, 2014 through January 30, 2015. To apply, go to the official USAJobs page link.
To qualify, applicants must have a master’s degree or higher, graduating between spring 2013 and spring 2015, with a strong interest in digital stewardship. Currently enrolled doctoral students are also encouraged to apply. Application requirements include a detailed resume and cover letter, undergraduate and graduate transcripts, two letters of recommendation and a creative video that defines an applicant’s interest in the program. (Visit the NDSR application webpage for more application information.)
For the 2015-16 class, five residents will be chosen for a 12-month residency at a prominent institution in the Washington, D.C. area. The residency will begin in June, 2015, with an intensive week-long digital stewardship workshop at the Library of Congress. Thereafter, each resident will move to their designated host institution to work on a significant digital stewardship project. These projects will allow them to acquire hands-on knowledge and skills involving the collection, selection, management, long-term preservation and accessibility of digital assets.
We are also pleased to announce the five institutions, along with their projects, that have been chosen as residency hosts for this class of the NDSR. Listed below are the hosts and projects, chosen after a very competitive round of applications:
- District of Columbia Public Library: Personal Digital Preservation Access and Education through the Public Library.
- Government Publishing Office: Preparation for Audit and Certification of GPO’s FDsys as a Trustworthy Digital Repository.
- American Institute of Architects: Building Curation into Records Creation: Developing a Digital Repository Program at the American Institute of Architects.
- U.S. Senate, Historical Office: Improving Digital Stewardship in the U.S. Senate.
- National Library of Medicine: NLM-Developed Software as Cultural Heritage.
The inaugural class of the NDSR was also held in Washington, DC in 2013-14. Host institutions for that class included the Association of Research Libraries, Dumbarton Oaks Research Library, Folger Shakespeare Library, Library of Congress, University of Maryland, National Library of Medicine, National Security Archive, Public Broadcasting Service, Smithsonian Institution Archives and the World Bank.
George Coulbourne, Supervisory Program Specialist at the Library of Congress, explains the benefits of the program: “We are excited to be collaborating with such dynamic host institutions for the second NDSR residency class in Washington, DC. In collaboration with the hosts, we look forward to developing the most engaging experience possible for our residents. Last year’s residents all found employment in fields related to digital stewardship or went on to pursue higher degrees. We hope to replicate that outcome with this class of residents as well as build bridges between the host institutions and the Library of Congress to advance digital stewardship.”
The residents chosen for NDSR 2015 will be announced by early April 2015. Keep an eye on The Signal for that announcement. For additional information and updates regarding the National Digital Stewardship Residency, please see our website.
See the Library’s official press release here.