Digitization Assistant (Special Collections)
- Program stream:
- Young Canada Works in Heritage Organizations
- Job title:
- Digitization Assistant (Special Collections)
- Organization name:
- Vaughan Memorial Library Special Collections & Esther Clark Wright Archives, Acadia University
- Job location:
- Wolfville, Nova Scotia
- Length of assignment:
- 2026-06-01 to 2026-08-21 (12 weeks)
- Hourly wage:
- $16.50
The Vaughan Memorial Library’s Special Collections at Acadia University is seeking a Digitization Assistant to support a Young Canada Works–funded project to digitize 80 years of Acadia University's Academic Calendars dating from 1854 to 1934.
The Academic Calendars are foundational institutional publications that document the University’s curriculum, academic regulations, governance structures, faculty appointments, and student life over more than 175 years. The Digitization Assistant will contribute to improving public access to these heavily used historical resources by creating high-quality digital surrogates and associated metadata for inclusion in Acadia University’s digital repository.
Working under the supervision of Special Collections and Archives staff, the successful candidate will gain hands-on experience with professional digitization workflows in a library and archival environment.
Duties and Responsibilities
Under supervision, the Digitization Assistant will:
- safely handle and prepare bound historical volumes for digitization;
- digitize Academic Calendars using established digitization standards and equipment;
- create preservation-quality digital master files and appropriate access copies;
- apply optical character recognition (OCR) and basic accessibility features to digitized files;
- create and apply descriptive and contextual metadata for serial publications;
- conduct quality control checks to ensure accuracy, consistency, and completeness of digital files;
- assist with the organization and upload of digitized content to Acadia University’s digital repository (Islandora);
- participate in light public-facing communication related to the project, such as preparing social media posts or blog-style web post.
Learning Outcomes
Through this position, the student will gain:
- practical experience with digitization of bound and historical publications;
- familiarity with preservation standards and digitization best practices;
- experience applying OCR and accessibility tools to historical texts;
- introductory experience with metadata creation and digital repository workflows;
- insight into the role of libraries and archives in supporting research, teaching, and institutional memory.
Required Qualifications
- Must meet the eligibility requirements of the Young Canada Works program;
- Enrolled in or recently graduated from a post-secondary program in a relevant field (e.g., History, English, Library and Information Studies, Archival Studies, Digital Humanities, Education, or a related discipline);
- Strong attention to detail and organizational skills;
- Basic computer literacy and comfort working with digital files;
- Ability to work independently and collaboratively under supervision.
Assets
- Previous experience or coursework related to libraries, archives, museums, or heritage institutions;
- Familiarity with digitization, scanning, or digital imaging;
- Interest in institutional history, higher education, or documentary heritage.
Employment Details
• Duration: 2026-06-01 to 2026-08-21 (12 weeks)
• Hours: Full-time (25 hours per week)
• Wage: $16.50/hour
• Location: Vaughan Memorial Library, Acadia University (on site)
Equity Statement
Acadia University is committed to fostering an inclusive and equitable working and learning environment. Applications are encouraged from Indigenous peoples; African Canadians and African Nova Scotians; persons with disabilities; racialized persons; women; persons of any minority sexuality, gender identity, or gender expression; and all intersections of these identities.
How to Apply
Please submit a resume and cover letter by email prior to the application deadline: Friday, May 1, 2026.
Attention: Catherine Fancy, Archives Coordinator
Email: catherine.fancy@acadiau.ca
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