Project Summary: The Collections Department documents the history and culture of the state by building, preserving and making available the collections of the Minnesota Historical Society. The intern will work independently and with staff in the Collections Department toward developing a series of blog posts documenting Minnesota’s involvement in World War I (approximately April 6, 1917-November 11, 1918). At the culmination of the internship, the intern will have researched extensively across collecting types to build a comprehensive list of WWI resources available in the MNHS collection, assemble those materials into the blog database, and begin selecting and scanning materials to upload to the daily blog.  This blog will be based on the model provided by the “Civil War Daybook” (http://discussions.mnhs.org/collections/category/civilwardaybook/)

Student Responsibilities:

  • Use the Reference Library and databases to research MNHS collections
  • Review archives, newspapers, photographs, and posters for content applicable to the project
  • Maintain a spreadsheet with information pertinent to the daily blog
  • Write succinct contextual introductions to selected materials
  • Work physically with collections, including scanning archival material

 

Knowledge intern is expected to gain:

  • Experience working in a professional setting
  • Experience researching in special collections
  • Training in MNHS collections cataloging databases
  • Experience handling and scanning archival material

 
Ideal degrees:   History, museum studies, anthropology, library science or related fields.

                     

Student Qualifications:  Senior level undergraduate student or graduate level student with a passion for research.  Must possess the following:

  • Interest in history
  • Attention to detail
  • Strong research and writing skills
  • Strong computer skills
  • Ability to scan archival material
  • Requires minimal direct supervision

Additional Materials Required: Short writing sample (maximum 500 words) demonstrating student’s ability to concisely convey information distilled from research.
NOTES:
2 openings.

Additional Salary Information: Unpaid Internship