Digital Archivist

Job Description

About Detroit Sound Conservancy

Detroit Sound Conservancy is a community-based archive dedicated to preserving, activating, and celebrating Detroit’s singular and definitive musical heritage. Through archival preservation practices, engaged education initiatives, and intergenerational live performance programming, DSC gives access to and preserves the vivid memory of musical movements, uplifts the agency of artistic legacies, counteracts reductive representation, and puts listening at the center of community.

The Archivist will serve as the primary steward of Detroit Sound Conservancy’s collections, managing both digital and physical materials while building meaningful relationships with donors and community members. This role requires a detail-oriented, proactive and collaborative person with exceptional organizational skills, hands‑on expertise in audio‑visual preservation workflows, and the ability to work sensitively and effectively with Detroit’s music community—particularly elders and families who are entrusting their legacies to DSC’s care.

The Archivist will be responsible for the management, preservation, and access to the organization’s digital assets, including born‑digital materials and digitized collections, ensuring their long‑term integrity, authenticity, and usability for current and future generations. The Archivist will lead the implementation of new archival management systems, refine existing and develop new workflows, conduct regular field visits to acquire and assess collections, and oversee the processing and preservation of materials across multiple platforms and physical facilities.

• Serve as the primary collections contact for all donors, building trust and clearly communicating how DSC will preserve and honor their materials and legacies
• Conduct field visits to meet with donors, assess potential acquisitions, appraise collections, and provide guidance on caring for personal archives
• Oversee the processing, cataloging, and preservation of audio‑visual materials, photographs, documents, ephemera, and born‑digital collections
• Develop, maintain, and refine existing archival workflows for preservation, digitization, metadata creation, and collection processing
• Assess physical and digital condition of materials and implement appropriate preservation and conservation strategies for the long‑term accessibility of paper‑based collections and audio‑visual formats
• Manage collections storage and preservation at both WGPR facility and the developing Blue Bird Inn archive, including coordinating the movement of materials between locations
• Develop finding aids and access tools that reflect the significance and context of these foundational collections
• Prioritize ongoing processing and preservation work for DSC’s core collections:
  United Sound, Club Heaven, Blue Bird Inn, and Graystone Jazz Museum materials

• Lead the research, selection, and implementation of a new digital asset management system (DAM) and content management system to replace current Google Drive infrastructure
• Develop requirements and specifications for archival management software that meets DSC’s needs for both physical and digital collections
• Work with consultants and technical partners (grant‑funded) to design and implement a public‑facing web portal for collection access
• Create and maintain standardized documentation for all systems, workflows, and procedures
• Ensure long‑term digital preservation strategies are built into all new systems

• Develop and implement workflows for audio digitization, video preservation, and born‑digital file management
• Stay current with best practices in audio‑visual preservation, file format migration, and media longevity
• Make informed decisions about digitization priorities, format choices, and quality control standards
• Work with volunteers and interns to execute digitization projects while maintaining quality standards

• Collaborate with DSC staff on exhibitions, programming, and research projects utilizing priority…