National Museums NI is seeking a Cataloguing Officer for the Unlocking Our Sound Heritage project to enable the discovery and access of digitised sound recordings for a wide range of audiences. The role holder will create and amend catalogue records and other metadata and oversee the day to day digital data workflows.

Unlocking Our Sound Heritage will digitally preserve almost half a million endangered sound recordings digitise from across the UK and make 100,000 available online transforming the visibility of sound archive collections in the process.

Main Tasks:
• Create and / or amend records for National Museums NI catalogue, for sound material involved in this project.
• Document physical sound recordings on loan to National Museums NI.
• Structure information packages for the British Library’s Digital Library System (DLS) according to defined BL procedures. Ensure that the data is submitted in the required format.
• In conjunction with the Rights Officer, determine the rights holders. Send permissions requests to identified rights holders (and/or their representatives, e.g. publishers, agents, estates, other relevant corporate bodies) for the digitisation and use of collection items.
• In conjunction with the Rights Officer, record the process and outcomes of the rights clearance work to ensure that an audit trail of due diligence is maintained.
• Ensure that collection items and material on loan are appropriately handled, cared for and returned in a timely manner.

Personal Specification.

Essential criteria:
1. Educated to degree level or equivalent plus one year’s experience working in a similar role
OR, in the absence of a degree, two years’ experience working in a similar role
2. Cataloguing skills including the ability to catalogue audio materials to appropriate standards, such as AACR2, MARC or SPECTRUM
3. Ability to adhere to cataloguing standards developed to meet the needs of the sound collections, as required
4. Proven ability to record information in a consistent and accurate manner
5. Ability to carry out repetitive tasks efficiently, while demonstrating a meticulous attention to detail
6. Good working knowledge of MS Office and Social Media
7. The ability to work both independently and as part of a team
8. Excellent oral and written communication skills
9. Proven ability to manage projects with conflicting priorities ensuring that identified deadlines are met

Desirable criteria:
1. Experience of cataloguing in a library, archive, museum or other similar environment
2. Qualified information professional (Chartered Librarian or Archivist or equivalent)
3. Knowledge and experience of cataloguing recorded sound
4. Experience of working with volunteers
5. Experience of audio archives

See link below for further details.