Session 14. You Gotta Start Somewhere: Leveraging Education and Collaboration to Create Meaningful Internship Experiences

Abstract

Student and non-archivist employees and interns are a fundamental part of the archival workforce that often fall into the background. While training these rising archivists can be a challenge, these relationships also provide archival professionals a chance to develop projects that address backlogs, while also providing educational opportunities to potential future colleagues. At the same time, these projects give us the chance to see our processes with fresh eyes and more diverse ideas. In public and academic library settings, these experiences help expose emerging archivists to the daily workload of archives professionals. This presentation will showcase examples of how three distinct organizations have integrated students and non-archivists into their processing, exhibition, and outreach activities.