Digital Collections Curator

ITHAKA’s mission is to expand access to knowledge and education around the world. Our services — JSTOR, Portico, and Ithaka S+R — enable people everywhere to learn, to grow, and to overcome barriers to education. In carrying out our mission, as employees we feel a deep responsibility to members of our community and to each other, and we are committed to building and sustaining a culture where everyone can thrive.

The Role

Reveal Digital, part of JSTOR Digital Stewardship Services at ITHAKA, creates open digital collections that expand access to primary sources. Reveal Digital works with a diverse group of stakeholders to bring together materials that document important cultural, social, and political histories, especially those that have been dispersed, under-described, or difficult to access at scale.

As Curator for Digital Collections, you will support the development of digital collections through research, evaluation of primary source materials, and collaboration with contributing institutions. You will work with libraries, archives, and individual contributors to identify and evaluate materials, secure participation and help guide collections through digitization and publication in partnership with colleagues to ensure collections are prepared, described, and published for meaningful scholarly use.

This role requires strong research skills and the ability to work as a generalist across a range of subject areas. You will investigate unfamiliar topics, assess the relevance and significance of primary source materials, shape the interpretive and descriptive framing that makes collections usable for scholarship and teaching, and collaborate with subject experts and contributors to build collections responsibly. Success in this role depends on sound judgment, intellectual curiosity, strong organizational skills, and the ability to work independently within established program frameworks, while contributing to a collaborative program-centered and mission-driven approach for Reveal Digital.

Responsibilities

• Identify and evaluate primary source materials for inclusion in Reveal Digital collections through independent research and engagement with libraries, archives, and other contributors.

• Serve as a primary partner-facing lead for contributing institutions and individuals, building relationships that support sustained participation, shared expectations, and responsible stewardship.

• Coordinate the acquisition of materials, including rights and permissions documentation as needed.

• Translate curatorial intent into publication-ready plans by partnering with internal teams to move materials through digitization, metadata creation, quality review, and publication; ensure that workflows and outputs align with the collection’s intellectual and ethical goals.

• Contribute to collection descriptions, metadata review, and contextual materials to support discovery and scholarly use.

• Maintain accurate project tracking and documentation, ensuring collection progress, permissions status, and publication readiness are clearly recorded.

• Review digital materials and metadata to help ensure accuracy, completeness, and alignment with project goals.

• Communicate regularly with internal and external partners to support coordination, resolve issues, and maintain project progress.

• Maintain high-level visibility into collection progress and risks, including publication readiness, rights constraints that affect scholarly access, and dependencies across partners; escalate issues that require program leadership decisions.

• Contribute to outreach and field engagement as a curator and program representative, including presentations, partner conversations, and professional convenings that strengthen Reveal Digital’s collaborations and scholarly impact.

Experience and Skills

• 3 - 5 years of experience working with primary source collections, archives, libraries, digital collections, or related cultural heritage materials.

• Experience working with digital collections, metadata, digitization, or related publishing workflows.

• Strong research and analytical skills, including the ability to identify, evaluate, and contextualize primary source materials and develop working knowledge of potentially unfamiliar subject areas.

• Strong writing and editorial skills, including experience producing interpretive or contextual materials that support discovery and scholarly use.

• Demonstrated interest in expanding access to primary sources and supporting inclusive, collaborative cultural heritage work.

• Ability to work independently and manage projects of moderate scope and complexity while collaborating effectively with colleagues and external partners.

• Ability to build and maintain relationships with contributing institutions and individuals with professionalism and care.

• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, including experience tracking projects and managing documentation.

• Familiarity with copyright, permissions, and rights research practices.

• Facility with Airtable welcomed.

Work Authorization and Sponsorship

ITHAKA is not currently considering candidates who require any type of immigration sponsorship (additional work authorization or permanent work authorization) to work in the United States.

Compensation and Benefits

At ITHAKA we believe in openness and fair pay. Part of living those values is our commitment to clarity about salary ranges, so candidates know what to expect. The starting salary for this position ranges from $61,000 to $76,000 per year. Starting pay may vary with job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. At present, our total compensation package for benefits-eligible employees includes medical, dental, and vision plans, an employer-paid 10% retirement contribution, paid parental and caregiver leave, 22 days of paid time off, 11 paid holidays, up to 12 sick days, wellness benefits, and more. Please note that ITHAKA, at its discretion, may make changes to its benefits programs from time to time.

Work for ITHAKA

We are committed to our organizational values of belonging, evidence, speed, teamwork, and trust. We take seriously the need for everyone to feel welcome. Belonging is one of our core values, and it shows in our vibrant culture. People from a wide range of backgrounds work at ITHAKA, and we believe that unique perspectives help us realize new insights and build better solutions.

We want to work with people who are passionate about ideas like these and who wish to contribute their perspectives and talents to ITHAKA’s mission. We enthusiastically welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and credentials. We want to hear your story and include your perspective in the transformative work we aim to do.

Learn more about Working at ITHAKA.

Apply Now

Although ITHAKA has physical offices in New York and Ann Arbor, Michigan, our employees are distributed across the continental United States. At this time, we’re not considering candidates who are unable to work and reside in the continental U.S.

Candidates may apply by submitting an application online through our career site, if you have any questions about your application, please contact us at [email protected]. ITHAKA is committed to providing reasonable accommodations, if there’s anything we can do to accommodate any portion of the application or hiring process, please contact us at [email protected].

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to identity or other status protected by law. We invite you to read our Equal Employment Opportunity Statement. ITHAKA cares about your privacy, learn more about our Applicant Privacy Notice.