This appendix provides pathways, organizations, and resources for building a career in Archaeobytology. Whether you're a student exploring the field, a practitioner seeking employment, or an established scholar looking to pivot, these resources will help you navigate professional opportunities.
Entry Points:
PhD in adjacent field (History, Media Studies, Library Science, Computer Science, STS) with Archaeobytology dissertation
Postdoctoral fellowships in digital preservation or digital humanities centers
Visiting scholar positions at institutions with archival collections
Job Titles to Search For:
Assistant Professor of Digital Culture/Media Studies
Digital Preservation Specialist (tenure-track at iSchools)
Digital Humanities Faculty
Archivist (academic libraries with digital collections)
Media Archaeology Scholar
Institutions Known for This Work:
Stanford University (CESTA - Center for Spatial and Textual Analysis)
University of Virginia (Scholars' Lab)
UCLA (Digital Humanities, Film & Media)
MIT (Comparative Media Studies, Media Lab)
UC Berkeley (School of Information)
University of Toronto (iSchool)
King's College London (Digital Humanities)
Amsterdam (Media Studies)
Professional Development:
Publish in Digital Humanities Quarterly, First Monday, Internet Histories
Present at ADHO (Alliance of Digital Humanities Organizations), 4S, ACM conferences
Apply for NEH Digital Humanities grants, Mellon Foundation funding
Build teaching portfolio with Archaeobytology syllabi
Salary Range (US, 2025):
Assistant Professor: $65k-90k
Associate Professor: $80k-110k
Full Professor: $100k-150k+
Entry Points:
MLS/MLIS (Master of Library and Information Science) with digital preservation focus
MA in Museum Studies with technology concentration
Certificate in Digital Curation
Job Titles to Search For:
Digital Archivist
Digital Preservation Librarian
Digital Collections Manager
Web Archivist
Born-Digital Materials Curator
Metadata Librarian (digital collections)
Institutions Hiring:
Internet Archive (San Francisco)
Library of Congress (Washington DC)
National Archives (US, UK, various countries)
Major university libraries (Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Michigan)
Museum digital collections (MoMA, Smithsonian, V&A)
State historical societies
Professional Organizations:
Society of American Archivists (SAA) - Digital Archives Section
Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T)
American Library Association (ALA) - Digital Content & Libraries
International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA)
Certifications:
Certified Archivist (Academy of Certified Archivists)
Digital Archives Specialist (DAS) Certificate
Salary Range (US, 2025):
Entry-level archivist: $45k-55k
Mid-career: $55k-75k
Senior/management: $75k-95k
Organizations Actively Hiring:
Digital Rights & Advocacy:
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
Creative Commons
Internet Archive
Wikimedia Foundation
Mozilla Foundation
Free Software Foundation
Cultural Heritage:
Archive Team (volunteer, but can lead to paid roles)
Software Preservation Network
Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)
Europeana
Research & Policy:
Data & Society Research Institute
Center for Democracy & Technology
Open Knowledge Foundation
Job Titles:
Digital Rights Advocate
Preservation Program Manager
Open Access Coordinator
Digital Policy Analyst
Community Engagement Manager
Skills Needed:
Policy analysis and advocacy
Grant writing and fundraising
Community organizing
Technical literacy (though not always coding)
Communication (writing reports, op-eds, briefs)
Salary Range (US, 2025):
Program Coordinator: $50k-65k
Senior Staff: $70k-90k
Director level: $95k-130k
Companies/Roles:
Platform Companies (ironic but real):
Meta, Twitter/X, Reddit: Data Preservation Specialists
YouTube/Google: Digital Archive Managers
LinkedIn: Content Preservation Engineers
Archival Tech Startups:
Webrecorder.io
Archive-It (Internet Archive's subscription service)
Preservica
ArchivesSpace
Consulting Firms:
Digital preservation consultancies (small firms, often 5-20 people)
Advise corporations, universities, governments on archival strategy
Job Titles:
Digital Preservation Engineer
Data Longevity Specialist
Platform Archival Architect
Digital Stewardship Consultant
Skills Valued:
Programming (Python, JavaScript, database management)
Systems architecture
Metadata standards
Legal/compliance knowledge (GDPR, copyright)
Salary Range (US, 2025):
Engineer: $90k-140k
Senior Engineer: $130k-180k
Consultant: $80k-120k (or higher if independent)
Agencies Hiring:
Library of Congress (Digital Preservation section)
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
Smithsonian Institution (digital collections)
State archives and libraries
International: British Library, Bibliothèque nationale de France, etc.
Job Titles:
Digital Preservation Specialist (GS-11 to GS-13 typically)
Records Management Analyst
Web Archiving Coordinator
Pros:
Job security
Good benefits
Work on nationally significant collections
Cons:
Bureaucracy
Lower salaries than tech industry
Slow hiring process
Salary Range (US federal, 2025):
GS-11: $60k-78k
GS-12: $72k-94k
GS-13: $86k-112k
Viable Freelance Roles:
Digital preservation consultant (advising organizations on archival strategy)
Metadata specialist (contract work for institutions)
Web archiving contractor
Digital forensics expert
Workshop facilitator (teaching preservation skills)
How to Build Freelance Career:
Build portfolio (showcase 5-10 preservation projects)
Create online presence (website, LinkedIn, Twitter showcasing expertise)
Network (conferences, professional organizations)
Start with part-time contracts while maintaining day job
Develop niche (e.g., "specialist in archiving indie game platforms")
Income Potential:
Highly variable: $40k-150k+ depending on client base and niche
Hourly rates: $75-200/hour for specialized expertise
Digital Humanities:
H-Net Job Guide: https://www.h-net.org/jobs/
Archives & Libraries:
SAA Career Center: https://careers.archivists.org/jobs/
ALA JobLIST: https://joblist.ala.org/
Code4Lib Jobs: https://jobs.code4lib.org/ (technical library work)
Tech & Non-Profit:
Idealist.org (non-profit jobs)
Tech Jobs for Good: https://techjobsforgood.com/
We Work Remotely: https://weworkremotely.com/ (remote tech roles)
Academic:
Chronicle of Higher Education: https://chroniclevitae.com/
InsideHigherEd Careers: https://careers.insidehighered.com/
H-Net (humanities network): https://www.h-net.org/jobs/
PAMNET (Preservation Administrators Discussion): https://cool.culturalheritage.org/bytopic/pamnet/
Digital Curation Google Group: https://groups.google.com/g/digital-curation
Code4Lib (library tech community): https://code4lib.org/
Archives & Archivists Listserv: https://www2.archivists.org/listservs
1. Society of American Archivists (SAA)
Website: https://www2.archivists.org/
Annual conference (August)
Special sections: Electronic Records, Web Archiving
Student membership: $85/year; Professional: $225/year
2. Alliance of Digital Humanities Organizations (ADHO)
Website: https://adho.org/
Annual DH conference (rotating international locations)
Member organizations include ACH (US), EADH (Europe), JADH (Japan)
3. Society for Social Studies of Science (4S)
Website: https://www.4sonline.org/
Annual conference (Science & Technology Studies)
Special interest groups in platform studies, digital infrastructure
4. Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Website: https://www.acm.org/
Special Interest Groups: SIGWEB, SIGCHI (Human-Computer Interaction)
5. Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T)
Website: https://www.asist.org/
Digital preservation and curation focus
6. International Internet Preservation Consortium (IIPC)
Website: https://netpreserve.org/
Global collaboration on web archiving
Annual Web Archiving Conference
7. Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC)
Website: https://www.dpconline.org/
UK-based but international membership
Resources, training, advocacy
1. Digital Humanities Conference (ADHO)
When: Summer (June-August)
Where: Rotates internationally
Why: Largest DH gathering, job networking, latest research
2. Society of American Archivists Annual Meeting
When: August
Where: US cities (rotates)
Why: Digital preservation sessions, archivist community
3. iPRES (International Conference on Digital Preservation)
When: Fall (September-October)
Where: Rotates internationally
Why: Technical deep-dives, preservation research
4. 4S Annual Meeting (Society for Social Studies of Science)
When: Fall (October-November)
Where: Rotates internationally
Why: Platform studies, STS theory, critical tech research
5. Personal Digital Archiving (PDA) Conference
When: Spring
Where: Various (often virtual)
Why: Community archiving, grassroots preservation
6. Code4Lib Conference
When: Winter/Spring (February-March)
Where: US/Canada
Why: Library technology, open source tools
7. Web Archiving Conference (IIPC)
When: Spring
Where: Rotates internationally
Why: Web preservation specific, technical methods
1. National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
Digital Humanities Advancement Grants: $50k-325k
Preservation Assistance Grants: $10k
Website: https://www.neh.gov/grants
2. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
National Leadership Grants for Libraries: $50k-1M
Focus on digital collections, preservation innovation
Website: https://www.imls.gov/grants
3. Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Scholarly Communications: grants vary widely
Strong focus on digital humanities, open access
Website: https://mellon.org/
4. Mozilla Foundation
Mozilla Technology Fund: $10k-250k
Internet health, open web, decentralization projects
Website: https://foundation.mozilla.org/
5. Knight Foundation
Knight Prototype Fund: $5k-50k
Journalism, information access innovations
Website: https://knightfoundation.org/
6. John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Arts & Technology: innovation in cultural preservation
7. Social Science Research Council (SSRC)
Fellowships for dissertation research on digital culture
8. Wenner-Gren Foundation
For anthropological approaches to digital culture
Kickstarter: For prototype tools, community archives
Patreon: Ongoing support for preservation projects
GoFundMe: Emergency rescue projects (dying platforms)
1. DigCCurr Professional Institute (UNC)
Digital Curation curriculum
Online and in-person options
2. SAA Digital Archives Specialist (DAS) Certificate
6 courses, can be completed online
Topics: metadata, preservation systems, digital forensics
3. Library Juice Academy
Online courses: "Web Archiving," "Digital Preservation"
Self-paced, affordable ($175-200/course)
4. LYRASIS (library consortium)
Webinars and workshops on digital preservation
Many free options
1. Coursera: Digital Curation
University of North Carolina
2. FutureLearn: Digital Preservation Essentials
University of London
3. edX: Data Science & Digital Humanities
Harvard, MIT courses
1. Digital Humanities Summer Institute (DHSI)
University of Victoria (Canada)
Week-long intensive courses (June)
Courses on digital archives, tool-building
2. HILT (Humanities Intensive Learning & Teaching)
Varies by year
Advanced DH methods
3. LEADING Fellows Program
UCLA-led, for early-career DH scholars
1. Personal Website
Domain: yourname.com (embody the Three Pillars!)
Portfolio: showcase 3-5 major projects
CV/Resume downloadable
Blog (optional but valuable for visibility)
2. GitHub/GitLab
Host code for preservation tools you've built
Contribute to open-source projects (Archive-It, Webrecorder, etc.)
Shows technical skills to employers
3. ORCID
Get an ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/
Links all your publications in one persistent identifier
4. LinkedIn
Complete profile with "Archaeobytologist" or related title
Join groups: Digital Preservation, Digital Humanities, Archives
Share articles, projects, conference attendance
5. Twitter/Mastodon
Follow key figures (see below)
Share your work, engage with community
Use hashtags: #DigitalPreservation #DH #Archaeobytology
Archivists & Practitioners:
@textfiles (Jason Scott, Archive Team)
@brewster_kahle (Brewster Kahle, Internet Archive)
Kate Zwaard (Library of Congress)
Archives community (various hashtags)
Scholars:
@mkirschenbaum (Matthew Kirschenbaum, digital materiality)
@miriamkp (Miriam Posner, DH critical perspectives)
@tcarmody (Tim Carmody, platform studies)
Platform Critics:
@doctorow (Cory Doctorow, digital rights)
@hypervisible (Sarah T. Roberts, content moderation)
@mathbabedotorg (Cathy O'Neil, algorithmic accountability)
Organizations:
@internetarchive
@EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation)
@wikimedia
1. Conference Networking
Approach presenters whose work resonates
Ask for informational interviews (15-20 min)
Follow up with occasional updates
2. Professional Organizations
SAA Mentoring Program: https://www2.archivists.org/prof-education/mentoring
ADHO has informal mentorship through local groups
3. Academic Advisors
If in PhD program, seek committee members who understand Archaeobytology's interdisciplinarity
Look for "hidden" Archaeobytologists in History, CS, iSchools
1. Archive Team IRC/Discord
Real-time chat with preservation activists
#archiveteam on IRC (EFNet)
2. Digital Preservation Slack
Invite-only but easy to get in (ask on Twitter)
3. Code4Lib Slack
Library tech community
4. DH Slack
Digital humanities practitioners
5. Reddit:
r/DataHoarder (preservation enthusiasts)
r/Archiveteam
r/DigitalHumanities
Models to Consider:
1. Non-Profit (501(c)(3))
Pros: Tax-exempt, grants eligible, donation-friendly
Cons: Paperwork, governance requirements
Examples: Internet Archive, EFF
2. Fiscal Sponsorship
Partner with existing non-profit (they handle money, you do work)
Pros: Faster start, less admin
Cons: Fee (5-15%), less control
Examples: Software Freedom Conservancy, Code for America
3. Cooperative
Member-owned, democratic governance
Pros: Aligned with sovereignty values, community-driven
Cons: Complex governance, member buy-in needed
4. For-Profit Social Enterprise
B-Corp or Public Benefit Corporation
Pros: Can earn revenue, mission-driven but sustainable
Cons: Mission drift risk, requires business skills
Nolo.com: Legal guides for starting non-profits
Foundation Center: Grant-seeking for new orgs
TechSoup: Discounted software for non-profits
SCORE: Free mentoring for small businesses/non-profits
Organizations:
Authors Alliance: https://www.authorsalliance.org/
Public Knowledge: https://www.publicknowledge.org/
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): Legal resources for digital rights
Key Legal Concepts:
Section 108 (US Copyright): Library exception for preservation
Fair Use Doctrine: Four-factor test for using copyrighted work
DMCA Section 1201: Anti-circumvention (exemptions for archiving)
Consult:
Lawyers for Good Government (pro bono tech law)
Creative Commons legal resources
On Building a Scholarly Career:
Wendy Laura Belcher: Writing Your Journal Article in Twelve Weeks
Helen Sword: Stylish Academic Writing
Miriam Posner: Essays on alt-ac careers (on her blog)
On Public Scholarship:
Nicholas Kristof & Sheryl WuDunn: Tightrope (models of engaged writing)
Michael Burawoy: "For Public Sociology" (essay, free online)
On Navigating Academia:
Karen Kelsky: The Professor Is In (job market, tenure process)
Maggie Berg & Barbara Seeber: The Slow Professor
Archaeobytology is a young field, which means you have agency to shape it. The career paths above are emergent—10 years ago, "Digital Preservation Specialist" barely existed as a job title. 10 years from now, there may be hundreds of such roles.
Your Next Steps:
Identify your track: Academic, practitioner, tech, non-profit, government, or hybrid?
Build skills: Take courses, earn certifications, contribute to projects
Network: Join professional organizations, attend conferences, find mentors
Create visibility: Website, portfolio, publications, social media presence
Apply broadly: Don't wait for "perfect" job—Archaeobytology jobs often have misleading titles
Remember: Every established Archaeobytologist today started somewhere uncertain. The field exists because people like you decide to practice it, teach it, fund it, and legitimize it.
You are building the profession as you enter it.
End of Appendix E