About Afghanistan Centre at Kabul University:

The Afghanistan Centre at Kabul University is the premier research institution and archive on Afghanistan in the region, with the most extensive collection of primary resources available in print and digital formats. The mission of ACKU is to promote literacy, facilitate scholarly work, and provide academic research training through its archive, digital library, and outreach and research programs.

ACKU was initially known as ACBAR Resource & Information Center (ARIC). The concept was envisioned by Louis Dupree and Nancy Hatch Dupree, two of the foremost experts on Afghanistan's history and culture. After the death of Louis in 1989, Nancy continued to work for the protection of cultural heritage through ARIC and later ACKU with a motto of “nation building through information sharing.”

Programs

The Library/Digital Resources

The ACKU library holds an extensive collection of documents on Afghanistan collected from various sources. Currently, it has more than 170,000 documents in Farsi, Pashto, English, and some other local and European languages. Its collection comprises of monographs, posters, newspapers, slides, CDs, fact sheets, music recordings, periodicals and magazines stretching back decades. The primary activities of ACKU library includes acquiring, cataloging, digitizing the documents and making these accessible to local and international users through user-friendly online databases.

ACKU Box Library Extension

The mission of ABLE is to improve literacy among children and adults by promoting a culture of reading through easy-to-read books and educational material that is locally written and published. Since 1996, ABLE has established 277 libraries in communities across all 34 provinces. These libraries have over 200,000 annual users. ABLE has published 419 books in Farsi, Pashto and, recently in, Uzbeki, on a variety of subjects based on the user suggestions, of which over 50 titles are for young readers.

Research

ACKU promotes and supports a strong research environment in Afghanistan by training local scholars in research methodology, critical analysis and academic writing. University students and faculty members are the main beneficiaries of the research courses. An academic research project on the issue of migration was completed at ACKU in collaboration with the City, University of London in late 2018. In addition, ACKU organizes various events, such as seminars, conferences and workshops, and hosts sponsored events from partner institutions on its premises. Through this, ACKU aims to provide a platform for Afghan and international scholars to interact and exchange ideas.

Under the supervision of the Library Manager, the Cataloguer Assistant is responsible for original cataloging in local languages Persian/Dari and Pashto, and Western languages within the ACKU Library policies, procedures standards, and resources.

 Duties and Responsibilities:

          Catalog:

• Catalogue library collections (monographs, serials, maps, photos, audio, video, and electronic resources) in local languages Dari and Pashto and western language English, in accordance with international standard (AACR2) Library of Congress Subject Headings, Classification number and etc.).
• Perform original descriptive, subject field for library materials in Pashto, Dari, and English.
• Correct old entries, as needed, in order to ensure that all entries in the catalogue records are accurate and complete.
• Create item record; assign call number and spine label for each physical item.
• Assist with the acquisition and processing of new library collections.
• Assist with the preparation of material for the ACKU bulletin.
• Help in the identification of documents of historical or research significance for the digitization process.

Digital Media:

• Skill in converting video and audio from analog to digital.
• Digitize analog media, including VHS tapes, audio cassette tapes, and other physical media, ensuring high-quality transfers to digital formats (e.g., WAV, MP3 for audio; MKV, MP4 for video).
• Access and skills to set up, operate, and maintain digitization equipment, such as VCRs, tape decks, audio interfaces, and video capture hardware.
• Monitor and maintain file format standards, ensuring compatibility and accessibility across various devices and media players.
• Working knowledge and experience with one of the video editing software; Adobe Premiere Pro, Edius & Final Cut Pro, and one of audio editing: Adobe Audition, Cool Edit & Audacity.

Required Skills and Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in literature/Languages with one year of working experience in a public library or completion of an internship in library science, particularly under the cataloging department with one year of work experience
• Good knowledge of library collections and information materials
• Good spoken and written communication skills
• Good working knowledge of Windows, Microsoft Office packages, and database searching
• Good typing skills

Interested Afghan applicants should submit their CVs along with a cover letter indicating their interest and suitability for the position.

Please indicate the position title and vacancy number (Catalog Assistant Digital Media ACKU-VA#2024004) in the subject line of your email.