Special Collections & College Archives Department of Musselman Library invites Gettysburg College students (including seniors who will graduate in May) to submit applications for our 2024 summer internships. These positions are open to students from all majors who are interested in exploring special collections librarianship, archives, conservation, or public history as a profession. We will hire 2-3 interns to work full-time in Special Collections from June 3 – August 2, 2024.
The internships are funded by the Diane Werley Smith ’73 Special Collections Summer Internship Fund and the Robert ’44 and Esther Kenyon Fortenbaugh ’46 Summer Internship Fund.
Special Collections holdings include a variety of materials including rare books, letters, diaries, photographs, historic maps, artifacts, memorabilia, oral histories, media, and art. It is the home of the Gettysburg College Archives, which includes documents and publications related to the history of the College.
Our summer interns will be introduced to a variety of skills including the organization, preservation, and description of manuscript collections, rare book cataloging, book/paper conservation, and digital projects.
Whenever possible, interns will work with manuscript materials or books covering subjects that interest them. Training is done onsite. Some tasks will require the interns to work independently, while others will be collaborative.
When
- Summer only
- Weekdays from June 3 - August 2, 2024
Hours: 35 hours per week
Pay rate: $10.25 per hour
Housing: Internship includes campus housing during the weeks of the summer internship.
The interns will rotate through Special Collections completing sessions in:
Archives
- Introduction to archival theory
- Organization, preservation, and description of manuscript collections
- Care and handling of archival materials
Cataloging and metadata
- Discuss selection of materials for collections
- Catalog books and other historic materials for discovering in MUSCAT Plus
- Transcription and metadata best practices for GettDigital Collections
Conservation and collection maintenance
- History of the book and introduction to bookbinding
- Book/paper conservation
- Making custom enclosures
- Collections care
Digital Humanities and Digital preservation
- Lifecycles of digital objects
- Interpretive methods using digital tools
- Digital preservation best practices
Essential duties and responsibilities:
- Participating in daily training and archival projects
- Completing collection inventories
- Conducting primary source research
- Creating finding aids and metadata
Required skills:
- A current Gettysburg College student who has completed at least one semester of coursework in any course of study
- Interest in historical research with primary sources
- Interest in special collections, archives, public history, or museum studies as a profession
- Effective organizational skills as applied to the gathering and analysis of historical information
- Ability to work efficiently independently and in small groups
- Demonstrated ability to manage time, finish tasks, and see a project to completion
Preferred skills:
- Ability to read cursive handwriting
For a sampling of our unique collections, please explore the Special Collections and College Archives website and our GettDigital Collections.
General Supervisor: Carolyn Sautter, Director of Special Collections and College Archives
Reports to: Individual rotation supervisors including,
Carolyn Sautter, Director of Special Collections and College Archives
Amy Lucadamo, College Archivist
Mary Wootton, Special Collections Conservator
R.C. Miessler, Digital Initiatives Librarian
Internship Evaluation:
Summer interns will participate in mid-summer check-ins and end-of-summer performance reviews with the Director of Special Collections and College Archives.
Application deadline: February 18, 2024 (by 11:59 p.m.)
Application Process:
Applications are due through Handshake (Job 8583118)
1) Submit a letter of interest indicating your interest in this position, your educational goals, and any relevant courses.
2) Submit a copy of your resume including past work experience, course projects, activities, volunteer work, etc.
3) Provide the names of two campus references. References may be faculty members or supervisors for a campus job or project.
Please be specific about why you want a summer full-time internship in Special Collections and College Archives at Gettysburg College and how you think it will help you obtain your goals.
From the pool of letters/resumes, 4-6 students are selected for in person or Zoom interviews which take place during the week following the deadline.
The Smith and Fortenbaugh interns will be selected from those invited to interview.
The search committee is comprised of our Director of Special Collections and College Archives, College Archivist, Digital Initiatives Librarian, and Special Collections Conservator.
For questions, please contact:
Carolyn Sautter, Director of Special Collections and College Archives: csautter@gettysburg.edu
Musselman Library Diversity and Inclusion Statement
Musselman Library is committed to creating, through our learning spaces, programs, services, collections, and policies, an environment that supports, values, and respects everyone in the Gettysburg College community. At Gettysburg, diversity includes but is not limited to age, country of origin, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or expression, geography, learning differences, political beliefs, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic level.