Thursday, March 8, 2012

Internships - Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library

The Theodore Roosevelt Center at Dickinson State University is seeking interns to participate in the cataloging and development of the Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. The goal of the Center is to serve scholars, tourists, teachers, curious citizens, and students of all ages as they explore the life and achievement of the 26th President of the United States. Launched to the public in late 2011, the Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library is the primary portal the Center uses to convey that goal to a national audience. We currently have over 10,000 items available to the public from 12 different collections.

The Center currently has over 150,000 digitized documents from the Theodore Roosevelt Papers at the Library of Congress, of which about 28,000 are in various stages of cataloging. This collection includes letters to and from Roosevelt, newspaper clippings, speeches and executive orders, photographs, maps, and personal diaries. In order to make the digital files available to the public online, the Center is seeking interns to help with creation and review of metadata for these documents in our online database.
Interns will work a minimum of 240 hours (approximately six weeks), viewing documents on a computer screen and typing and reviewing information on a Web-based form. Interns will also evaluate other catalogers’ work to make sure all standards are being met.

Interns may be involved in minimal copyright review of collections in order to continue growing the digital library holdings available to the public. Interns selected for copyright review would have some additional training to complete for the internship. Interns will also be encouraged to ask questions and to volunteer projects depending on their own interests in digital libraries, Theodore Roosevelt historiography and cataloging.

Since the work is Web-based, the internships will be conducted remotely. Interns do not need to relocate to Dickinson, North Dakota, to complete their work. Training will be provided to interns via an on-line classroom environment at the beginning of the internship. Moderate hourly stipend may be available. Internships are to be completed between May 1 and August 31, 2012.

Required qualifications:
• Graduate students or recent graduates in archival studies, library science or information management, history or American studies
• Attention to detail
• Commitment to accurate, high-quality work
• Self-motivated worker, as all work will be done remotely

Desired qualifications:
• Knowledge of digital standards, particularly Dublin Core and controlled vocabularies
• Experience working in digital collections, particularly creating metadata/catalog records
• Knowledge of Theodore Roosevelt and/or American History in the late 19th and early 20th centuries

To Apply:
Send letter of application (including proposed start/end dates and your reasons for interest in this internship) and resume to Krystal Thomas, Digital Library Coordinator/Archivist for the Theodore Roosevelt Center, krystal.thomas@dickinsonstate.edu. Applications must be received by April 13, 2012 for consideration.

For more information, see http://theodorerooseveltcenter.com/Get-Involved/Become-an-Intern.aspx