Archival Intern

Description

The Archival Intern will support key preservation and transfer projects within the collection, working with historic materials to improve storage conditions and organize archival resources for future access and potential donation.

Clip Files Rehousing

Interns will rehouse a variety of ephemera—including newspaper articles, photographs, menus, and documents—into archival-quality folders. This includes replacing or reattaching deteriorated labels, addressing overcrowding and condition issues, and flagging items requiring conservation.

Auction Catalog Processing

In a continuation of last year’s project, interns will organize a collection of art auction catalogs, flagging those with annotations or notable markings for potential future digitization and redaction in preparation for possible donation.

Poster Collection Registering

After being trained in proper handling of paper artworks, interns will process a large, recently acquired collection of unframed poster art. This will include registering the items in a spreadsheet or directly into a database, preparing them for photography, and then rehousing them into flat files in Summit Archives art storage.

Textile Rehousing

After being trained in the proper handling and padding out of textiles, interns will move special collection articles of clothing from non-archival crowded bins to archival boxes. They will register and label each box with content descriptions including photographs.

VHS Video Sorting

Interns will compare a collection of VHS movie tapes to a list of movies already in the library collection. Titles not already represented will be kept while duplicates will be disposed of.

Loose Photo Archiving

Interns will sort a recently discovered collection of print photos by subject matter or event, flag any needing conservation treatment, and rehouse them in their appropriate clip file or library location if time permits.

Duration:

The hours and duration of this internship are flexible. Approximately 3 days a week for up to 10 weeks, to ensure that a good amount of material is processed. The summer internship to start in mid-June and would run through the month of August, depending on the availability of supervision and the schedule of the various parties involved.

Requirements

Education / Experience: 

• Current student in good academic standing with an interest in history, museums, libraries, or related fields.
• Careful and thorough approach to handling materials, following instructions, and organizing information.
• Curiosity about how historical materials are preserved and prepared for research or exhibition.
• Punctual, dependable, and able to work independently or with supervision on repetitive tasks.
• Openness to training in archival handling, conservation basics, and proper storage practices.
• Able to ask questions, take notes, and communicate clearly with team members.
• Comfortable lifting light boxes (up to 20–25 lbs), standing or sitting for extended periods, and working in a quiet environment.
• Familiar with using Google Docs, Sheets, or Microsoft Office for tracking tasks or entering data.

Physical Requirements:

Time Spent on Computer (what percent of each day?) 

20%

Does the job require any lifting? If yes, what is the maximum amount of pounds that will be lifted?  

40 lbs.

Carrying relatively heavy loads, bending and lifting books, etc. is a daily event. 

Does the job require a constant amount of standing, sitting, walking, etc? If yes, what percent of each day? 

Standing and walking: 40% 

Sitting: 50% 

Going up and down stairs and ladders: 10% 

This position requires the ability to work for extended periods at a computer workstation; lift moderately heavy boxes and books; move items to and from shelves, climb stairs and ladders, and tolerate moderate levels of dust.  

Does the job require any type of physical repetitive activity? If yes, what is the activity and what percent of each day is it being done?

Computer use: 20%

Shelving books and/or filing: 50%

Compensation:

• Expected pay rate is $16.90 per hour