The Smithsonian Libraries is currently recruiting for seven fall internship projects in all areas of the Libraries. All are unique learning experiences with mentorship and guidance. They are open to grad students, recent graduates and some are open to undergrad students.
Category: Intern and Volunteer Updates
The following post was written by Development intern Tatum Lindsay. Tatum first joined us last summer and explains why she was eager to come back to the Libraries and build on that experience.
A lot of people ask me why I chose to come back to the Smithsonian as an intern. Isn’t once enough? Don’t I need more diverse experience for my infant college resume? What is the point of doing the same internship over again? The truth is there is no better place to be than the Smithsonian. Well, the Smithsonian Libraries, to be exact.
This post was written by Jaclyn Peterson. Jaclyn interned at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Library this past spring, working to identify Artists’ Books in the collection and making them more accessible in the library catalog.
Before I began working on a cataloging project with the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Library (HMSG) , I naively thought I was able to spot an artist’s book out of a regular collection a mile away. In my mind, they were supposed to be visually stunning items, handcrafted with mixed media, and having book-like or “book-ish” qualities. All of the artists’ books I had seen in my limited experience were flashy and intricately designed objects created in limited editions, and they seemed to be more art than book. Going through HMSG’s collection and making decisions about which books to tag in the catalog as being ‘Artists’ Books Specimens,’ I discovered a side of artists’ books I had not encountered before: the artist’s book in a trade book’s clothing, or in other words, an artist’s book that looks like a regular book.
This post was written by Adriana Marroquin, intern in the Botany-Horticulture Library as well as the Biodiversity Heritage Library.
I’ve been an intern at the Smithsonian Botany-Horticulture library since February and am a little over halfway done with my time here. A Maryland native, I hold a Bachelors of Fine Arts in writing, literature and publishing from Emerson College, and recently earned an Masters of Library Science from the University of Maryland. Previously, I worked as a research assistant at the Harvard Forest paleoecology lab, a library assistant at the Harvard Botany Libraries, and a bibliographic data intern at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Central Library.
Like books, quilts are symbolic items with patterns that can tell stories. Quilts tell domestic narratives and have been recognized as important historical artifacts. As a result, the Smithsonian’s National Quilt Collection at the National Museum of American History contains hundreds of quilts. However, it might be surprising to hear that the Smithsonian Libraries also hold quilts – or rather, quilt-like books.
This post was written by Erin Friel, an intern at the American Art and Portrait Gallery Library, January-May 2013.
Currently on display at the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is the installation “Bound for Freedom’s Light: African Americans and the Civil War,” which showcases portraits of familiar figures such as Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth, as well as contemporary news illustrations of lesser-known events. Those who would like to learn more about some of the topics in the exhibit can find information in the excellent resources at the American Art Museum/National Portrait Gallery Library (AA/PG).
The Smithsonian Libraries has just opened applications for a new paid internship opportunity for Summer 2013 in the National Air and Space Museum Library! Read on for more information.