Authorities & Entity Management Metadata Specialist

Code4lib

Los Angeles (CA)

On-site

USD 65,000 - 80,000

Full time

14 days+

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Job summary

A prestigious research institution in Los Angeles seeks an Authorities & Entity Management Metadata Specialist to enhance its metadata strategy. This role involves collaboration across departments focusing on data quality and governance. Candidates should have an MLIS and a minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in visual arts or archives. Strong knowledge of archival metadata standards and technical skills in tools like OpenRefine are essential. The position offers a dynamic working environment with responsibilities in metadata enrichment and cross-collection linking.

Qualifications

Minimum of 5 years related professional experience.
Experience in the visual arts, library, or archives domains is highly desirable.
Ability to conceptualize metadata work within broader institutional and strategic goals.

Responsibilities

Govern external authorities and entity data reconciliation.
Lead metadata governance groups focusing on data quality.
Design and participate in bibliographic and archival data cleanup.

Skills

Knowledge of current archival and bibliographic metadata standards

Technical expertise in OpenRefine

Excellent communication skills

Education

MLIS from an ALA-accredited program

Tools

OpenRefine

Python

Job description

Authorities & Entity Management Metadata Specialist

Getty Research Institute (GRI) invites applications for an Authorities & Entity Management Metadata Specialist (Metadata Specialist III) to join our newly established Digital Stewardship and Metadata Optimization team. Based at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, the GRI is committed to advancing knowledge and understanding of the visual arts and their histories. Serving an international community of scholars, the Research Library is one of the world’s largest art and architecture libraries, with holdings exceeding 1.5 million volumes. Our Special Collections encompass rare books and journals, photographs, prints and drawings from the 15th century to the present, architectural plans and models, art multiples, film, audio and video recordings, born-digital content, and extensive archives and manuscript collections.

As part of a key institutional priority, the GRI is advancing a transformative, program-wide approach to metadata strategy. This initiative includes the development and hiring of multiple metadata-focused positions designed to work collaboratively across domains to transform metadata governance, improve data quality, and prepare for a linked data future at GRI. The Authorities & Entity Management Metadata Specialist will work in close partnership with the open PMCM Authority Control and Bibliographic Maintenance Librarian to ensure alignment between strategic planning and operational workflows for both published and archival materials. Together, these roles will:

Coordinate cross-domain projects that unify bibliographic and archival metadata practices
Develop shared governance frameworks for metadata quality, identity management, and interoperability.
Collaborate on enrichment strategies that leverage external authorities.
Identify opportunities for linked data integration across systems and collections.

This collaborative model ensures that strategy and execution are tightly connected, fostering innovation and consistency across GRI’s collections.

Reporting to the Head of Metadata Strategy, the Authorities & Entity Management Metadata Specialist will play a pivotal role in shaping and implementing initiatives that bridge departments and foster a holistic view of data across the GRI’s collections. Key responsibilities include providing strategic vision and execution for metadata enrichment, identity management, and data cleanup projects that span archival and bibliographic data. Additional focus areas include enhancing bibliographic linked data, improving data quality in Alma to better align with BIBFRAME, and applying linked data principles to strengthen interoperability, and reuse. The incumbent will work closely with catalogers, archivists, and product managers to apply a data governance approach to metadata quality.

Major Job Responsibilities

Govern and operationalize external authorities and entity data reconciliation and contributions to ULAN and Wikidata across GRI collections
Leads metadata governance groups focusing on data quality and data sharing with cross-department dependencies and impacts.
Design, oversee, and participate in bibliographic and archival data cleanup and enrichment projects in coordination with catalogers, archivists, and product managers
Analyze opportunities and challenges; recommend metadata requirements for effective linked data implementation
Participates in committees, task forces, and other collaborative projects
Maintain and disseminate knowledge of current and emerging issues concerning linked data and BIBFRAME
Conduct assessments of GRI datasets to articulate opportunities for research data transformation and use in partnership with GRI research and knowledge creation departments
Maintain a shared knowledge base for projects and documentation around cross-department metadata practices
Identify opportunities for cross-collection and cross repository linking
Provide guidance and mentorship to staff on updated workflows, tools, and emergent metadata practices
May supervise or direct the work of others

Qualifications

MLIS from an ALA-accredited program; undergraduate and additional graduate degree in an appropriate discipline is preferred
Minimum of 5 years related professional experience
Experience working in the visual arts, library, and/or archives domains highly desirable

Please note: This position is not eligible for employer-based immigration sponsorship. Applicants must have authorization to work for Getty in the United States without the need for sponsorship, currently or in the future.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Strong knowledge of current archival and bibliographic metadata standards and authorities including: MARC, RDA, EAD, AAT, ULAN, and Library of Congress authorities and classification
Knowledge of linked data principles and domain-specific ontologies: BIBFRAME, Records in Contexts-Ontology (RiC-O), Linked Art
Technical expertise in OpenRefine and other computational methods and tools for data retrieval, analysis, reconciliation, and transformation
Familiarity with or willingness to learn Python and other relevant scripting languages
Demonstrated ability to build expertise in emerging approaches as well as established practice standards
Familiarity with database structures and data management
Experience in project management and/or supervisory roles
Excellent communication, analytical, and problem solving skills
Ability to conceptualize metadata work within broader institutional and strategic goals
Proven ability to work collaboratively in team-based environments with colleagues across domains
Adaptability and effectiveness in dynamic and evolving work environments
Interest in pedagogy, training, and knowledge sharing
Strong organizational skills with the ability to meet deadlines, apply policies and procedures consistently, conduct research, and present recommendations
Familarity with AI-assisted approaches for metadata creation and management in library and archival contexts preferred