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Summer 2013 Internship Projects

This year, we are excited to offer five projects in our Summer Internship Program! Details for each are below. Each are unique learning experiences but all benefit from professional mentorship from SIL staff, as well as internship programming opportunities and events from the Libraries and the Smithsonian Institution. Please note that these internships do not carry a stipend, though we are happy to work with students to help them obtain credit from their college or university. If you are interested in a paid internship, please see our Professional Development listing. All applications must be submitted via the Smithsonian Online Academic Appointment System. After you have created an account and are ready to apply, be sure to choose the Smithsonian Institution Libraries as the Office/Museum/Research Center and then "Smithsonian Institution Libraries Internship Program" as the program. You may apply to more than one project at a time. Please also see the Biodiversity Heritage Library Marketing Intern listing. Applications are due April 12th, 2013.

Deadline for the Artists' Books project has been extended until April 26th!

Digital Asset Managment System Internship:

  • Full time or Part time: Either
  • Location of internship: Metadata Unit (National Museum of Natural History, Washington DC)    
  • Desired knowledge/skill sets (include education level):
  • Graduate student with interest in digital image preservation and digital asset management systems.  Knowledge of IPTC metadata and Adobe Creative Suite.
  • Brief description of project:This intern will assist Digital Services and Metadata Services staff in metadata preparation and quality control for the mass transfer of digital images to the Smithsonian's enterprise-wide Digital Asset Management System. The intern will test and implement a metadata and image ingest workflow for image files, including transferring them from their current media and embedding metadata. The intern will learn the lifecycle of a digital image as well as the importance of metadata and how libraries and cultural institutions are utilizing digital asset management systems.

 

Museum Support Center Collections Management Internship

  • Full time or Part time: Either
  • Location of internship:    Museum Support Center Library, Suitland, MD.       
  • Desired knowledge/skill sets (include education level): Library and Information Science student(s) interested in learning about collections management. People with positive attitudes especially desired. Project may require physical activity (packing boxes, moving shelves of books etc.).
  • Brief description of project: Project will include shifting and separating of Serials into Call number order at MSC, separating serials from monographs and moving/shifting collections/integrating collections. It will also involve the ongoing integration of Copepods and Crustacean collections. Intern will perform bibliographic searches and verification of print/digital existence of items to aid in collection development, as well as assist staff with ongoing identification of works to digitize to add to the CHL Digital Collection. Intern(s) will learn and practice Collections Management and Collections Development issues faced by libraries, including identifying physical items to add to digital collections; acquisitions/selection/weeding/withdrawals done at the local level; team work and collaboration required to accomplish collections management across departments and the institution.

 

Development Internship

  • Dates preferred: Summer 2013 (start date negotiable on or after 5/20; duration for 6-8 weeks)
  • Full time or Part time: Either, minimum of 16 hours per week.
  • Location of internship: SIL Development Office (National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC)
  • Desired knowledge/skill sets (include education level): Experience in Adobe Photoshop , InDesign, and/or other design and publishing software tools necessary. Currently enrolled in or graduated from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
  • Brief description of project: This is an excellent opportunity for a student to gain experience working in the Development Office of the Smithsonian Libraries, the world’s largest museum library system. The Development Intern assists the development staff with various aspects of our fundraising activities related to donor research, event planning, mailings and outreach design, marketing, and other cultivation activities. Activities will include: Prepare and help assemble major donor mailings and solicitations,  Design materials (invitations, brochures, hand-outs, letters) for donor appeals and cultivation events,Conduct research to evaluate current and prospective individual donors to match their interest with program priorities.
  • Ideal Candidate would possess strong communication skills; particularly strong writing ability, superb attention-to-detail, organization skills, and multi-tasking abilities, strong interest in design and photography and interest in libraries/museums, fundraising, marketing/public relations.
  • Intern will become knowledgeable about the different roles of fundraising in a complex museum setting, learn about communication with and cultivation of donors, and gain marketing, design, and event planning experience.

 

Artists’ book accessibility and research

  • Dates preferred: Eight weeks, starting any time between June 4 – 25, 2012.
  • Full time or Part time: Full time
  • Location of internship: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Gallery Library.        
  • Desired knowledge/skill sets (include education level): MLS graduate student; art background preferred; class work or experience with cataloging/metadata; exhibition experience a plus but not necessary
  • Brief description of project: Following up on past summer internship projects, intern(s) would identify and inventory HMSG artists’ book to generate a spreadsheet in order to have bibliographic records MARC 650/655 fields updated by cataloging staff.  Intern(s) would research a selection of artists’ books and artists from the collections, and in-tandem develop exhibition ideas featuring artists’ books, a display in the AA/PG Library, and/or a virtual exhibition.  Interns will research a selection of artists’ books from SIL collections. Interns will have the opportunity to work at SI Libraries as well as other Washington, DC area collections. Resulting research will then be used for future initiatives, including blog postings on the SIL blog, exhibitions, and online access tools. Students will develop experience with the genre of artists’ books, have the opportunity to use multiple collections in diverse settings, collaborate with colleagues to research and develop projects, explore ways to make collections accessible to a wide audience and investigate preservation issues for special collections.


National Museum of American History General Collections Review

  • Full time or Part time: Either one
  • Location of internship: National Musem of American History Library, Washington DC.   
  • Desired knowledge/skill sets:  Understanding of the selection and de-accessioning process for general collections materials in an academic library setting (collection development); skill in working with professional staff such as museum curators.
  • Brief description of project: This project is to assist librarians in the NMAH Library in reviewing its general collections materials.  The intern, together with NMAH Library staff, will review collection holdings and work with the NMAH professional staff to begin a systematic review of the holdings of the NMAH Library.  Intern duties may include documentation, packing the boxes, and arranging for shipment. This topic may not often be discussed in library school.  The intern would discuss the process and rationale with reference librarians and technicians and the criteria for weeding and learn how librarians make decisions to weed and cultivate a paper and online collection in a special or academic library setting.