About the Consortium of European Research Libraries (CERL) The Consortium of European Research Libraries is a membership organisation for all libraries, museums of the book, archives and other organisations with an interest in cultural heritage in the form of early-printed books and manuscripts. Together we develop services that increase the visibility and use of our collections, thereby supporting students, scholars, researchers, archivists, special collections librarians, information professionals and cataloguers in their work. We bring together under one umbrella descriptions of books, biographical information about printers, information about book production (such as printer’s marks, bookbinding, size of print runs and watermarks), and extensive information about book ownership (such as owners’ marks, annotations, and library stamps). In this way our collections are placed in a wider context, allowing us to shine a bright light on our shared European cultural heritage.
Many of CERL’s databases are linked to digital copies of original materials held in our member libraries. Our search interfaces are especially tailored to the specialist data we hold, allowing for detailed searching and granular retrieval results. Our CERL Thesaurus is published as Linked Open Data, and may be reused both to build connections between databases and to facilitate searching in large data sets. CERL is a network for sharing expertise, where we discuss and develop standards (e.g. for describing provenance information and bookbinding), we support institutions in protecting their collections against theft and criminal damage, and we support the exchange of expertise (e.g. the Expert Group for Manuscript Librarians and the LIBER Forum for Digital Cultural Heritage). We also promote the exchange of knowledge through our website, seminars, conference proceedings and the Can You Help? resource.
CERL is a partner in the EU-funded CENDARI project (FP7). CENDARI (2012 - January 2016) seeks to integrate digital archives and resources for research on medieval and modern European history. Through the development of a so-called ‘enquiry environment’ these selected resources – including those from hitherto isolated archives and data silos – will be made available to researchers of medieval Europe and the First World War period. CERL assists in the organisation of exchange programmes, training pathways, summer schools, and project dissemination. For more information on the CENDARI project please see www.cendari.eu.
In the CENDARI project you will assist in the recruitment and running of the ‘Trusted Users Group’. The Trusted Users Group (TUG) are critical friends, motivated by their interest in the possibilities for CENDARI for their own work, and willing to apply an understanding eye to technologies or components that may not yet have been fully tested or integrated. Together with this group, in quarterly cycles, you will test project outcomes and report back to development partners within the project.
The second component of the job involves raising awareness among librarians and archivists, (and academics where appropriate) of the potential that is bundled together in rich data resources presented with tailored tools such as are created by the CENDARI project. This involves organising workshops, training sessions, instruction videos, and other instruction materials as appropriate. The materials you create for this purpose are to form the nucleus of a training archive, where ideas and materials are held that may be re-used in other contexts (e.g. CERL awareness campaigns).
As part of the activities of Work Package 5, coordinated by the Freie Universität, Berlin, CENDARI creates a set of Archival Research Guides, which draw on traditional archival guides while leveraging the possibilities brought by digital tools and methods – such as collaborative writing, sharing resources and notes with other researchers and connecting dispersed archival resources in a thematic and transnational manner). You will be liaising with project partners to work on two of these Archival Research Guides, one for medievalists (in collaboration with SISMEL, Florence - www.sismelfirenze.it) and one focusing on collections (in collaboration with The European Library - www.theeuropeanlibrary.org). The Project Officer will also work with SISMEL to explore whether tools designed for medievalists may be reused in the context of WWI research.
Your tasks relate to those in other work packages, and in this context you will liaise with other project officers, assist in the preparation of project deliverables, and participate in project meetings.
For the Consortium of European Research Libraries, you will work with all members of the CERL Secretariat in the communication of CERL activities to its members and the community at large.
The starting date is ‘as soon as can be arranged’, and no later than 1 March 2015.
The key aspects of the role are training, communication, awareness raising, dissemination and liaison. We need you to have
We need you to be an energetic self-starter with good interpersonal skills, who is willing to travel regularly.
The contract is for a fixed term and will run until 31 January 2016.
At your discretion you may be based at either one of the two CERL (shared) offices:
If you are based in London, CERL will use the British Library Grade B pay scale as a guideline. The gross annual salary is a minimum of £31,858 rising to a maximum of £36,087 per annum. Your annual leave will be 30 days full-time equivalent.
If you are based in The Hague, CERL will use the CAO (Collective Labour Agreement) of Dutch Research Institutions (CAO-OI) as a guideline. The gross monthly salary is a minimum of € 2,512 and a maximum of € 3,804 gross per month (equivalent to CAO-OI scale 10 full time, plus 8% holiday bonus and 8.33% ‘December bonus’). Your annual leave will be 30 days full-time equivalent.
For further information, please contact Drs Marian Lefferts, Executive Manager of the Consortium of European Research Libraries (marian.lefferts@cerl.org), or telephone +31 70 3140135. For information about CERL see and www.cerl.org.
Please send your letter of application, accompanied by your CV (both in English) and the names and contact information for two referees, to Drs Marian Lefferts at the e-mail above (please put CERL – Application for Project Officer in the subject line), or by mail to Postbus 90407, NL-2509 LK Den Haag, The Netherlands.
The closing date is 9 January 2015.