Internship Opportunities

The Special Collections and Archives Department welcomes applications from undergraduate and graduate students for our semester-long internship opportunities. The available internships and application requirements are described below.

Ideal candidates for these internships would be students considering careers in librarianship, archives, conservation, museum studies, or historic preservation. The number of available internships in a given semester is dependent on the availability of appropriate projects and faculty supervisors.

Interested applicants should fill out our online Internship Application Form. Application materials should be submitted a minimum of four weeks before the requested starting date of the internship. After we receive your application, we will contact you to set up a mutually convenient time for an on-site interview.

Special Collections and Archives offers internship projects in the following areas:

Manuscripts Processing

Interns gain hand-on experience in arrangement and description of manuscript and archival collections. This can include sorting and rehousing of materials; researching people, groups, or events relevant to a collection; and creating a DACS compliant finding aid using Archivists’ Toolkit software.

Collections Research

Interns do in-depth research on particular Special Collections and Archives subject collections or areas. Outcomes can include a collection analysis, a detailed description for the departmental website, or a research guide for students or other researchers.

Digital Projects

Interns use digital technologies to create and enhance electronic access to our collections. Potential projects include digitization of documents and images, creation of metadata for existing digital collections, research on copyright issues for archival and manuscript materials, or digitization of audio and video materials in a variety of formats.

Archival Transcription

Interns transcribe handwritten materials or oral history audiotapes using accepted standards and guidelines for historical transcription. Transcription projects can also involve research and scholarly annotation of the materials.

Reference and Instruction

Interns staff the Special Collections and Archives reference desk, work with visiting researchers, and answer phone and email queries. Reference and Instruction interns may also address tour groups or lead informational class sessions in the department.

Preservation

Interns learn the basics of archival repair of books and other paper materials, including stabilization, rehousing, and environmental monitoring.