Archival Intern (Fleming)

Position Overview

Vanderbilt Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) specialize in preserving and providing access to collections on the political social cultural and economic history of the American South. The archives of the university document the history of Vanderbilt and its impact on the region throughout the past 150 years. The people who administered taught and attended the school are vital to this history and these stories enrich scholarly research class instruction and community connection.

We are seeking an intern to process and describe one or more of our university archival collections in compliance with Describing Archives: A Content Standard and guidelines provided by SCUA. The successful candidate will have some knowledge of archival theory and best practices be detail-oriented and comfortable working with spreadsheets. This internship will provide hands-on archival processing experience in an academic library environment under the supervision of a full-time archivist.

The Vanderbilt University archival collections we are currently prioritizing for this internship include:

Vanderbilt University publications: Journals and magazines published by students and the administration from 1873 to present day

Records of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development which opened in 1965.

Records of the Center for Technology Transfer Corporation which document the creation of patents by faculty and staff

Key Responsibilities

Assess the collection(s) concerning material types date ranges subject matter and preservation issues

Develop an arrangement plan for the collection based on the creator(s) of the collection(s) and research value identifying appropriate series and subseries groupings

Physically arrange and rehouse the collection(s) into acid-free folders and boxes including conducting minor cleaning of documents and replacing rusty paperclips

Identify potential documents for digitization within the collection(s) based on the strengths of material and complementing existing digital collections

Describe the collection(s) in ArchivesSpace using DACS metadata standards and SCUA processing policies including the completion of finding aid notes for scope and content biographical/historical statement and arrangement statement

Qualifications

Students currently enrolled in or recently graduated from a relevant degree program and have a strong attention to detail

Ability to lift 3040-pound boxes

Excellent time management skills