Library Seeks Applicants for 2022 Archives, History and Heritage Advanced Internship Program
The Library of Congress is seeking applicants for its next Archives, History and Heritage Advanced Internship Program, which will run from Sept. 12 -- Nov. 18, 2022. This 10-week paid internship is open to undergraduate juniors and seniors, graduate and doctoral students interested in learning and conducting research at the largest library in the world.
The 2022 internship program will be a hybrid format that includes onsite and remote projects, allowing interns from near and far to participate.The deadline to apply is Monday, April 25, 2022.
The internship program gives the next generation of diverse archivists and knowledge workers invaluable opportunities to analyze, organize and interpret collections or programs that help share an inclusive story of the American experience. Internships and projects will heighten visibility and promote accessibility for Library resources that more fully represent the rich cultural and creative heritage of the United States.
The program targets Black, Indigenous and communities of color historically underrepresented in the United States and in the Library’s collections, i.e., enrolled students or recent graduates from minority-serving higher education institutions, such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions, Hispanic Serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Native American-Serving, Nontribal Institutions, and Predominantly Black Institutions.
The 2022 Archives, History and Heritage Advanced Internship Program is supported by an investment from the Mellon Foundation as part of the multiyear Of the People: Widening the Path initiative to connect more deeply with Black, Indigenous, Hispanic or Latino, Asian American and Pacific Islander communities by expanding collections, using technology to enable storytelling, and offering more internship and fellowship opportunities. Of the People: Widening the Path creates new opportunities for more people to engage with the Library, thus allowing the Library to share a more inclusive American story. The internship program is also funded in part by the Library’s Madison Council members Craig and Diane Welburn.
The Library anticipates hiring approximately 14 interns to complete six onsite and five remote projects. All onsite projects will be completed entirely within the Library’s Capitol Hill campus; all remote projects will be completed entirely offsite. Each intern will be assigned to work onone projectas their primary responsibility, alongside other assignments that will introduce them to a range of Library activity.
Onsite Projects
1) Uncovering Africa’s Literary Legacy in America(African and Middle East Division)
Project Description: The project broadens awareness about the complex intellectual heritage of African Americans, the retention of Africanisms in America, and the critical role of African writing in influencing African American identity. Interns will explore relevant programs and items dispersed throughout the Library to uncover and interpret the story of African writing as written by Africans, enslaved Africans, and African Americans.
2) Providing Access to the Records of the NAACP (Manuscript Division)
Project Description: This project will offer the opportunity to learn and apply archival principles of arrangement and description and sharpen skills to analyze the records of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Manuscript Division’s largest and most accessed collection.
3) Research, Reference, and Access - NAACP Records (Manuscript Division)
Project Description:Intern(s) will research the Library’s collection of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Records to create deliverables describing the collection’s arrangement and promote its accessibility.
4) The American Archive of Public Broadcasting Online Curation Project (National Audio-Visual Conservation Center)
Project Description: The intern will curate one or more new collections from the American Archive of Public Broadcasting website that relate to public broadcasting’s coverage of the histories and cultures of Black, Hispanic, Indigenous or historically underrepresented communities. The intern also will compile research to help archive staff target the preservation of additional programs relevant to the histories and cultures of those communities.
5) Visual Literacy: Critical Analysis and Enhanced Subject Indexing for Photographs of African Americans and Japanese Americans (Prints and Photographs Division)
Project Description:Intern(s) will work with catalogers to develop subject-indexing skills resulting in enhanced description of online collections, including portraits of African American actors, artists, authors, and musicians taken by Carl Van Vechten during the Harlem Renaissance and documentary photographs of the Japanese American incarceration during World War II.
6) Youth and Family Program Development (Informal Learning Office)
Project Description:The intern will learn about and observe family visitor experiences in the Young Readers Center-Program Lab, then develop two prototype “quests” and test them in the center. The project focuses on adapting diverse Library materials for youth and promoting accessibility for that particular audience.
Remote Projects
1) Uncovering Africa’s Literary Legacy in America (African and Middle East Division)
Project Description: The project broadens awareness about the complex intellectual heritage of African Americans, the retention of Africanisms in America, and the critical role of African writing in influencing African American identity. Interns will explore relevant programs and items dispersed throughout the Library to uncover and interpret the story of African writing as written by Africans, enslaved Africans, and African Americans.
2) Theodore Roosevelt and African Americans (Manuscript Division)
Project Description: Using the online Theodore Roosevelt Papers, the intern will formulate a methodology for discovering African American voices in the Roosevelt Papers, create a list of relevant documents uncovered, and analyze these primary sources to understand how African Americans interacted with and thought about Theodore Roosevelt.
3) The American Archive of Public Broadcasting Online Curation Project(National Audio-Visual Conservation Center)
Project Description:The intern will curate one or more new collections from the American Archive of Public Broadcasting website that relate to public broadcasting’s coverage of the histories and cultures of Black, Hispanic, Indigenous or historically underrepresented communities. The intern also will compile research to help archive staff target the preservation of additional programs relevant to the histories and cultures of those communities.
4) Diverse Collection Highlight Inventory (Office of Communications)
Project Description:The object of this project is to identity and inventory a large number of collection items (from 200 to 1,000) that are particularly noteworthy for reasons that will capture the imagination of a wide range of audiences with a variety of interests.
5) Supporting Culturally Relevant Pedagogy with Library of Congress Digital Collections (Professional Learning and Outreach Initiatives)
Project Description: The intern will collaborate with Library staff and Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) Consortium members to identify materials and K-12 classroom strategies that use digitized Library resources to effectively support culturally relevant and other pedagogies specifically developed to serve African American and other students of color.
Project descriptions and required skills for the onsite projects can be found at: https://www.loc.gov/item/internships/archives-history-and-heritage-advanced-internship-program-onsite-internship-2022/
Project descriptions and required skills for the remote projects can be found at: https://www.loc.gov/item/internships/archives-history-and-heritage-advanced-internship-program-remote-internship-2022/.
The Library of Congress is an equal-opportunity employer. Women, minorities and persons with disabilities who meet eligibility requirements are strongly encouraged to apply. Questions about the program or projects may be sent to AHHA@loc.gov.
The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States — and extensive materials from around the world — both on-site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov; access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov; and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov.
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Media Contact: Deanna McCray-James, (202) 707-9322, demc@loc.gov
Public Contact: Internship and Fellowship Programs, AHHA@loc.gov
PR 22-027
2022-04-01
ISSN 0731-3527