Vacancy for Web Archive Technical Lead at British Library

Digital Preservation Coalition; Boston Spa, London; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A national library in the UK is seeking a Web Archive Technical Lead to enhance web archiving capabilities, manage technical operations, and represent the organization internationally. The ideal candidate will be responsible for ensuring the necessary infrastructure is in place and collaborating with various libraries. This role is full-time and based in Boston Spa.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of web archiving technical capabilities.
• Manage technical operations and annual harvests of the UK web domain.
• Ensure necessary technical infrastructure is in place.
• Collaborate with Legal Deposit Libraries on web archiving requirements.
• Represent the Library internationally with partner organizations.

Job description

Vacancy for Web Archive Technical Lead at British Library

3 March 2024

Full-Time

We are recruiting for a Web Archive Technical Lead to join the UK Web Archive team at the British Library.

The British Library is the national library of the UK, housing a significant print collection of over 170 million items, including Magna Carta, handwritten Beatles' lyrics, and manuscripts by the Brontë sisters. Since 2013, the Library has been actively involved in web archiving, conducting annual crawls of the UK domain, resulting in over a petabyte of content, along with frequent targeted website crawls ranging from daily to monthly.

As the Web Archive Technical Lead, your responsibilities will include:

1. Leading the development and enhancement of the Library's web archiving technical capabilities in response to evolving web technologies.
2. Managing all aspects of technical operations, including the annual harvests of the UK web domain.
3. Ensuring that the necessary technical infrastructure (hardware, software, and network) is in place to meet evolving business needs.
4. Collaborating with Legal Deposit Libraries to incorporate their requirements into web archiving activities.
5. Representing the Library externally and internationally, working with partner organizations on common issues and technical solutions using shared standards and open-source tools.

Please note that due to a recent cyber-attack, the Library is experiencing a major technology outage. While web archiving activities continue and the Library remains open, our website, online systems, and some onsite services are affected. Currently, a temporary website (https://www.bl.uk/) provides limited information about available services and events. For questions regarding working at the Library or this role, please contact [e-mail].