Job: Research Fellow: Cataloging Open Access Classics Serials (COACS)

Job: Research Fellow: Cataloging Open Access Classics Serials (COACS)

The Institute of Classical Studies is running a one-year pilot project Cataloging Open Access Classics Serials (COACS), in collaboration with the Combined Library of the ICS and of the Hellenic and Roman Societies, and colleagues in the UK, Germany and the USA. 

INSTITUTE OF CLASSICAL STUDIES

The Institute of Classical Studies (ICS) is the national centre for the promotion and facilitation of research into Classics and related disciplines. Founded in 1953 by the University of London and the Hellenic and Roman Societies, it now provides an internationally renowned research library used by scholars from universities throughout the world. It also runs seminar series, conferences and other events aimed at making the results of new research into Greek and Roman Antiquity available to the widest possible audience.

The COACS Project 

The Institute of Classical Studies (ICS) is running a one-year pilot project, Cataloguing Open Access Classics Serials (COACS), in collaboration with the Combined Library of the ICS and of the Hellenic and Roman Societies, and colleagues in the UK, Germany and the USA. This project will leverage the various sites that list or index open access (OA) publications, especially journals and serials in classics and ancient history in the first instance, so as to produce a resource that subject libraries may use to automatically catalogue the publications and articles therein.

The Role 

The Institute of Classical Studies is seeking an engaged and active Developer to work on the COACS project. The primary function of this role is to assess several databases of open access journals in ancient studies and formulate an intermediate metadata format for recording and sharing the serial and article records; build code to help with cataloguing and indexing the contents, and ingest the results into the library catalogue.  The role also requires acting as point of contact for academic project partners and other libraries working with the data and code we create.

Candidates will required a PhD or other postgraduate qualification (awarded or close to completion) in Classical Studies, Digital Humanities, Computer Science, Information and Library Studies or related discipline or equivalent professional experience in the library and information sector. You will have an understanding of the workings of specialist research libraries and a familiarity with metadata formats used in libraries especially MARC, MODS, XML, JSON. Candidates will require proficiency in a high-level programming language (preferably Python, but e.g.. also Javascript, PHP, Perl) and strong English Language and communication skills.

For an informal discussion on this position, please contact Dr Gabriel Bodard on gabriel.bodard@sas.ac.uk. For any recruitment issues or enquiries please contact the recruitment team on ulrecruit@london.ac.uk