Junior Fellows

Description

The Library of Congress is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution and the world's largest library, with more than 151 million items in its physical collections (including books, manuscripts, prints, photos, film, video, and sound recordings) and more than 19 million items online at its award-winning Web site. Located on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., the Library is also the home of the U.S. Copyright Office, the Congressional Research Service, and the Law Library of Congress and is leading the worldwide effort to preserve digital material through the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program.

The general focus of the Junior Fellows Program is on increasing access to the collections and an awareness of the Library's copyright, legal and special collections and digital initiatives. In the past, projects have been developed to make the collections better known and accessible to researchers including scholars, students, teachers, knowledge creators, and the general public. Interns help the Library expose unprocessed collections, participate in digital projects, provide additional services to Congress and the public, and make our collections more immediately accessible to scholars. Interns work under the direction of Library curators and specialists in various divisions. In the past, summer interns have identified hundreds of historical, literary, artistic, cinematic and musical gems representing rich cultural, creative, and intellectual resources. United States citizens currently enrolled in undergraduate or graduate school are invited to apply for consideration as a Junior Fellow.

KEY REQUIREMENTS

All projects require basic knowledge of Microsoft Office programs.

DUTIES:
This program offers undergraduate and graduate students insights into the environment and culture of the world's largest and most comprehensive repository of human knowledge. Interns will be exposed to a broad spectrum of library work: copyright, preservation, reference, access standards, and information management. Interns inventory, catalog, arrange, preserve, and research a backlog of copyright or special collections in many different formats in various divisions, and assist with digital preservation outreach activities throughout the Library. Near the end of their appointment at the Library, the interns join together to present a one-day display of historically significant and compelling gems they found in the course of their work. The display is open to members of Congress, Library staff, and the press and is always an eagerly anticipated event.

Program Projects:

1. Office of the Librarian, World Digital Library, Project Name: World Digital Library. Skills/Knowledge Desired: Writing ability; foreign language abilities and interest in foreign cultures a plus.

2. Copyright Office, Project Name: Copyright Historical Records.  Skills/Knowledge Desired: Strong organizational and analytical skills.

3. Law Library of Congress, Project Name: United Nations Gazettes.  Skills/Knowledge Desired: Good attention to detail; organizational skills; ability to create Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.

4. Office of Strategic Initiatives, National Digital Information Infrastructure & Preservation Program, Project Name: Digital Preservation Policies/Practices Analysis.  Skills/Knowledge Desired: Familiarity with wiki documentation tools.

5. Center for the Book, Project Name: Young Readers Center Outreach and Collection Development.  Skills/Knowledge Desired: Knowledge of social media; knowledge of books for young people.

6. Veterans History Project, Project name: Digital Preservation Workflows.  Skills/Knowledge Desired: Some prior experience working in an archive; knowledge of US military history and Microsoft Access.

7. Binding & Collections Care Division, Project name: Capturing the Preservation Action (Mass Deacidification) for Statistical Analysis.  Skills/Knowledge Desired: Knowledge of Integrated Library System searching and structure; use of Microsoft Excel.

8. Conservation Division, Project name: Conservation Division Website Refreshment.  Skills/Knowledge Desired: High level computer skills including web writing and web design; knowledge of Dreamweaver™ software; ability to do html encoding; clear writing and editing ability; ability to follow instructions; patience; self-motivation.

9. Preservation Research & Testing Division, Project name: Degraded Audio and Video Magnetic Media Identification and Characterization.  Skills/Knowledge Desired: Basic laboratory skills; computer skills including Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.

10. Preservation Research & Testing Division, Project name: ASTM 100 Year Paper Aging Study. Skills/Knowledge Desired: Ability to follow directions and record data.

11. Preservation Research & Testing Division, Project name: 1513 Ptolemy Geographia Altas.  Skills/Knowledge Desired: Background in one of the physical sciences, with chemistry or materials science preferred.

12. Geography & Map Division, Project name: Civil War Map Geospatial Portal.  Skills/Knowledge Desired: Basic GIS experience; familiarity with .kml and .kmz files.

13. Geography & Map Division, Project name: Vicente Sebastián Pintado Papers (1781-1842).  Skills/Knowledge Desired: Knowledge of  Microsoft Excel and Access; knowledge of Spanish language; background in library science.

14. Geography & Map Division, Project name: GIS Project Names and Metadata Standardization. Skills/Knowledge Desired: Computer file management skills (creating and organizing digital directories and files); knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel and Access; knowledge of GIS software such as ArcView, ArcGIS, ArcExplorer.

15. African & Middle Eastern Division, Project name: Afghanistan Un-cataloged Serials and Rare Book Project.  Skills/Knowledge Desired: Familiarity with Afghan history and publishing trends; knowledge of Dari Persian and Pashto language.

16. African & Middle Eastern Division, Project name: African Pamphlet Collection Finding Aid. Skills/Knowledge Desired: Strong organizational and analytical skills; knowledge of South African languages such as French or Portuguese.

17. African & Middle Eastern Division, Project name: Bibliographic Research on Sudan and South Sudan (2010 to present).  Skills/Knowledge Desired: Basic knowledge of bibliographic searching.

18. African & Middle Eastern Division, Project name: Persian Rare Book and Manuscript Hand List.  Skills/Knowledge Desired: Ability to read Persian.

19. Music Division, Project name: Music Bibliographic Access.  Skills/Knowledge Desired: Knowledge of Microsoft Access; ability to read music and interpret the content of a score.

20. Music Division, Project name: Concert Office Commission Database.  No specific skills/knowledg required.

21. Music Division, Project name: Digital Projects in the Music Division.  Skills/Knowledge Desired: Knowledge of  Microsoft Access; some knowledge of music and music history.

22. Science, Technology & Business Division, Project name: Japanese World War II Documents.  Skills/Knowledge Desired: Ability to read Japanese.

23. Science, Technology & Business Division, Project name: Science Education in the 21st Century. Skills/Knowledge Desired: Some interest in science education.

24. Motion Picture, Broadcasting & Recorded Sound Division, Project name: Identifying and Processing Sound Recordings.  Skills/Knowledge Desired: Familiarity with Microsoft Excel and Access; attention to detail; research skills; interest in recorded sound history.

25. Motion Picture, Broadcasting & Recorded Sound Division, Project name: Major Bowes Original Amateur Hour.  Skills/Knowledge Desired: Knowledge of databases, scanning, word processing, some web design; attention to detail; research skills.

26. Collection Access, Loan & Management Division, Project name: Carvalho Monteiro’s Collection: Improving Access.  Skills/Knowledge Desired: Proficient in Microsoft Office software, especially Excel.

27. Collection Access, Loan & Management Division, Project name: Miniature Collections.  Skills/Knowledge Desired: Proficient in Microsoft Office software, especially Excel.

28. Rare Book & Special Collections Division, Project name: Copyright Deposit Collection (1870-1897).  Skills/Knowledge Desired: Familiarity with Microsoft Word and Excel.

29. Rare Book & Special Collections Division, Project name: Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection Archive.  Skills/Knowledge Desired: Proficiency in Microsoft Access, Excel and Word; ability to read Italian, French or German; interest in rare books and database construction.

30. Hispanic Division, Project name: Online Exhibition “The United States and the Mexican Revolution”.  Skills/Knowledge Desired: Ability to read Spanish; some familiarity with Mexican and US history.

31. Manuscript Division, Project name: Mary Wolfskill Trust Fund Internship.  Skills/Knowledge Desired: Familiarity with web applications; knowledge of American history; ability to communicate effectively in writing; knowledge of integrated library systems; basic library applications; and other information technologies.

32. Manuscript Division, Project name: Manuscript Collections Processing.  Skills/Knowledge Desired: Knowledge of American history and culture; ability to organize, describe and preserve manuscript material.

33. Asian Division, Project name: Indexing Information on China in Library of Congress Reports.  Skills/Knowledge Desired: Knowledge of Chinese language helpful.

34. Humanities & Social Sciences Division, Project name: Digitization of Baseball and Sports Manuals (Pre-1924).  Skills/Knowledge Desired: Ability to search the Integrated Library System online catalog; ability to prepare and organize material.

35. Humanities & Social Sciences Division, Project name: Main Reading Room Video.  Skills/Knowledge Desired: Video experience including scripting, editing and filming.

36. Prints & Photographs Division, Project name: Roll Call Newspaper Photo Morgue.  Skills/Knowledge Desired: Visual literacy; communication skills; organizational and analytical skill.

37. Prints & Photographs Division, Project name: Congressional Quarterly News Photo Morgue.  Skills/Knowledge Desired: Visual literacy; communication skills; organizational and analytical skills.

For pdf of 2013 Junior Fellows Program Projects, click here:

http://www.loc.gov/hr/jrfellows/about.html

For more details about the 2013 Junior Fellows Program, click here:

http://www.loc.gov/hr/jrfellows/