Federal Work-Study (FWS) Internship Program: Library Undergraduate Digital Accessibility Assistant (Student Wage)

University of Virginia Physicians Group; United States; Hybrid; USD 17,000 - 22,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Internship Placement Program (IPP)

TFWS Internship

Hybrid work after training

Job summary

University of Virginia Library seeks a Library Digital Accessibility Assistant to contribute to the Digital Accessibility Student Team. The role focuses on production captioning, transcription, and PDF/document remediation of Library digital media and documents, under supervision of a Graduate Lead and Digital Accessibility Specialist.

This student position emphasizes high-volume, standards‑compliant production and accessibility tasks, with an internship arrangement through the IPP and potential

Qualifications

• Current undergraduate UVA student and eligible for Federal Work‑Study (FWS)
• Experience with captioning, transcription, or audio/video editing preferred
• Familiarity with captioning platforms such as YouTube Studio, Verbit, 3Play Media, or Amara
• Experience or interest in linguistics or multilingual content is a plus
• Experience with PDF editing or accessibility remediation is a plus
• Familiarity with Adobe Acrobat Pro and HTML/document structure concepts is beneficial

Responsibilities

• Perform production captioning and transcription or PDF/document remediation work
• Follow established workflows, style guides and quality benchmarks
• Submit work for quality review and incorporate feedback from Leads
• Maintain logs and meet team production targets
• Maintain confidentiality of student and patron records under FERPA and Library privacy policies
• Participate in onboarding and team discussions and help improve workflows

Skills

Captioning experience

Transcription experience

Education

Undergraduate UVA student

Tools

YouTube Studio

Verbit

3Play Media

Amara

Adobe Acrobat Pro

SensusAccess

Equidox

PAC 2024

Job description

The Library Digital Accessibility Assistant contributes to the UVA Library's Digital Accessibility Student Team by performing production work in one of two focus areas: captioning and transcription of digital media, or remediation of PDF and other document files. Assistants work within a small sub‑team led by a Graduate Library Digital Accessibility Lead, who provides day‑to‑day direction and quality review. Overall program supervision is provided by the Library's Digital Accessibility Specialist. This is a production‑focused role for students who are detail‑oriented, reliable, and committed to digital equity and information access.

Primary Responsibilities

Production Work (approximately 80‑85% of effort) Assistants perform high‑volume, standards‑compliant production work in their assigned track. Track‑specific responsibilities will be provided in the position supplement. Across both tracks, all Assistants are expected to:

• Follow established workflows, style guides, and quality benchmarks
• Submit completed work to their Graduate Lead for quality review and incorporate feedback
• Apply quality control for complex content, flagging items that require escalation to the Graduate Lead
• Maintain consistent throughput to meet team production targets
• Maintain accurate work logs in the team tracking system
• Maintain confidentiality of student and patron records accessed in the course of processing materials, consistent with FERPA and Library privacy policies

General Team Responsibilities (approximately 15‑20% of effort) Participate in onboarding and training during the first weeks of each semester, attend team check‑ins and contribute to workflow improvement discussions, and communicate proactively when questions, edge cases, or blockers arise.

Captioning & Transcription Focus Area

The Student Accessibility Assistant (Captioning & Transcription) performs production captioning and transcription work for the UVA Library Digital Accessibility Student Team. This position focuses on creating and editing accurate, standards‑compliant captions and transcripts for Library digital media collections, including a supplemental multilingual captioning pilot. Job functions include:

• Create accurate captions and transcripts for Library digital media using captioning software tools
• Edit and correct auto‑generated captions to meet quality standards for timing, accuracy, speaker identification, and readability
• Edit captions and transcripts for materials with multiple speakers, background noise, or technical vocabulary, applying judgment about clarity and speaker attribution
• Follow established style guides and quality benchmarks for caption formatting
• Submit completed work to the Graduate Captioning Specialist for quality review and incorporate feedback
• Assist with quality review of LLM‑generated captions for non‑English language media as directed by the Graduate Captioning Specialist
• Flag accuracy concerns and document recurring issues for pilot evaluation

PDF & Document Remediation Focus Area

The Student Accessibility Assistant (PDF & Document Remediation) performs high‑volume remediation of PDF and document files for the UVA Library Digital Accessibility Student Team. This position focuses on making Library digital content accessible by correcting structure, tags, reading order, alt text, and metadata using professional remediation tools. Job functions include:

• Remediate PDF and document files to meet WCAG 2.1 AA and PDF/UA accessibility standards
• Correct and add reading order, semantic tags, heading structure, alt text for images, and document metadata using Adobe Acrobat Pro
• Apply quality control for complex content types such as tables, charts, and multi‑column layouts, flagging items that require escalation to the Graduate Remediation Specialist
• Process documents through the established remediation workflow, including pre‑processing steps in SensusAccess and Equidox as appropriate
• Run quality checks using PAC 2024 or equivalent PDF accessibility validation tools
• Submit completed files to the Graduate Remediation Specialist for final review and incorporate feedback
• Maintain consistent throughput to meet team production targets
• Maintain confidentiality of student and patron records accessed in the course of processing materials, consistent with FERPA and Library privacy policies

Minimum Requirements

• Education: Current undergrad UVA student
• Licensure: None
• Federal work‑study students are eligible to apply.

Preferred Experience

• Prior experience with captioning, transcription, or audio/video editing
• Familiarity with captioning platforms such as YouTube Studio, Verbit, 3Play Media, or Amara
• Experience with or interest in linguistics, a second language, or translingual content — particularly relevant for supporting the multilingual captioning pilot
• Prior experience with PDF editing, document formatting, or accessibility remediation
• Familiarity with Adobe Acrobat Pro, Microsoft Word accessibility features, or HTML/document structure concepts
• Background in a STEM field or familiarity with technical notation (formulas, equations, diagrams) is a plus, given the volume of STEM content in Library collections
• Familiarity with version control or document management practices, such as tracking file versions, naming conventions, and organized handoffs
• Interest in disability studies, media accessibility, or library and information science

Internship Placement Program

In addition to the job duties and responsibilities outlined above, this position will participate in a structured internship experience through the Internship Placement Program (IPP). If selected, interns must enroll in either UNST 3910 (1 cr.) or UNST 3920 (1 cr.). The courses are offered 9+ times during the fall, offering plenty of options to choose from. If the course does not work for your schedule, we also offer an asynchronous co‑curricular workshop series through Canvas. Through this robust internship experience, students will receive dedicated career support from their supervisor and gain key skills and competencies that align with future job interests. The FWS Internship will look great on your resume and provide the student with impactful stories to share in interviews. TFWS Internships are best suited for students in their 2nd – 4th years.

Physical Demands

This is primarily a sedentary job involving extensive use of desktop computers. The job does occasionally require traveling some distance to attend meetings and trainings. Hybrid work might be possible after initial training period.

Equal Opportunity Statement

The University of Virginia is an equal opportunity employer. All interested persons are encouraged to apply, including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Learn more about UVA’s commitment to non‑discrimination and equal opportunity employment.

In 1819, Thomas Jefferson founded the University of Virginia and inaugurated a bold experiment. Two centuries later, Jefferson’s vision thrives. Across Grounds – and throughout the world – UVA students, faculty, staff and alumni challenge convention, break barriers and pursue the greater good. The University of Virginia is made up of eleven schools and affiliated foundations in Charlottesville plus the College at Wise in Southwest Virginia. The University of Virginia Health System is a renowned academic medical center committed to providing outstanding patient care, educating tomorrow's health care leaders and discovering new and better ways to treat diseases. The University's Medical Center, School of Medicine and Physicians Group are recognized for their excellence in patient care, education and research. At UVA, we offer a rich collection benefits, which have long been recognized and valued for their comprehensiveness and competitiveness in the market. In addition to a robust array of traditional benefits such as health care, time off, and retirement, UVA offers a comprehensive list of benefits and services to help staff and faculty meet their personal and family needs.