Job title: Dissertation Projects Student Assistant

We are looking for a graduate student to work during spring/summer term (from May to August) 2026.

The weekly schedule is flexible, to be determined with the supervisor upon hiring. Hours should have significant overlap with Eastern Time office hours (9am-5pm, Monday-Friday ET). 

Description

This position is located within the Deep Blue Repository and Research Data Services (DBRRDS) department of the Library (https://www.lib.umich.edu/about-us/our-divisions-and-departments/michigan-publishing/deep-blue-repository-and-research-data). DBRRDS is responsible for support and maintenance of both the University of Michigan’s Deep Blue Data and Deep Blue Documents institutional repositories. The Deep Blues provide access to the work that makes the University of Michigan a leader in research, teaching, and creativity. Where possible, we do this by providing open access to the items in our collection.

The Student Assistant will provide routine and special project support to the operations of Deep Blue Documents (https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/documents), the institution’s repository for publications, presentations, and other research outputs.

Deep Blue Documents contains over 160,000 digital deposits, including around 47,000 Ph.D. dissertations in the “Dissertations and Theses (Ph.D. and Master's)“ (https://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/39366) collection. In cases where we have not been able to secure permissions from the authors to share these items publicly, we restrict them to on-campus or U-M signed-in access only, effectively limiting access to the equivalent of the Library holding a print copy. 

The person(s) in this position will focus on strategically identifying dissertations that can be opened due to copyright status, author permission, or other factors; on enhancing discoverability; and on identifying dissertations that have yet to be digitized. The Dissertation Projects Student Assistant(s) will be responsible for creating (in collaboration with supervisors) and implementing workflows for several dissertation-based projects, communicating with alumni and other public users (via email) as needed to implement established workflows and set expectations, and evaluating and preparing dissertations to be opened for public access. 

Responsibilities

• Collaboratively create and implement communications and technology workflows for dissertations in the Deep Blue Documents system.

• Create email templates and communicate with alumni and others about dissertation access and opening.

• Evaluate copyright status and other factors that may impact dissertation openness.

• Clean, assess, and perform basic comparison/analysis of tabular data on U-M dissertations, including physical vs. digital formats and Deep Blue vs. overall Library holdings.

• Create and proofread documentation.

• Enrich and remediate dissertation metadata.

• Support additional emergent dissertation work as needs evolve.

Remote and/or on-campus work option (at Shapiro Undergraduate Library on central campus) is available, based on conversation with supervisor(s).

To Apply

1. Complete the U-M student temporary employment application located under Wolverine Access > Student Business  

2. Apply online at https://forms.gle/FZCykAJtr4z3YZP49. Please submit a tailored cover letter (no more than one page) and resume as a single document.

Application Deadline: April 26, 2026

Required Qualifications

• Current enrollment as a Master's or PhD student.

• Demonstrated skills in content organization, record keeping, and documentation.

• A keen attention to detail and an ability to express concepts and ideas clearly and concisely in writing.

• Demonstrated ability to work independently as well as collaboratively, ask appropriate questions to direct work, and complete tasks on time.

• Experience working in software platforms with detailed workflows.

• Demonstrated comfort and experience with data cleaning software (such as OpenRefine, Google spreadsheets) and office software (such as Google Suite or Microsoft Office).

Ideal (but not required)

• Current or previous study of library science or other relevant information field.

• Experience interacting with users/patrons/customers from a wide range of backgrounds, e.g., in a customer service capacity.

• Demonstrated interest in scholarly publishing, open access, or open science.