Preservation Intern, Special Collections, State Library of Massachusetts, Boston MA

Posted May 6, 2014

The Special Collections Department is offering part-time internships this summer to assist with preservation tasks.  Internships can start in the first weeks of June, with possibility of extension. We request a minimum commitment of four hours per week: preferably 9am-1pm or 1pm-5pm.

 

The intern will assist the Preservation Librarian in a variety of preservation/conservation projects including but not limited to: paper surface cleaning, document repairs and lining, archival rehousing, encapsulation, book and spine repairs, and cleaning/organizing the Special Collections shelving units. The ideal preservation intern will have significant knowledge of, and hands-on experience/training in, archives, special collections, and preservation/conservation techniques.

Since the early nineteenth century, the State Library has collected materials that reflect Massachusetts’ government, culture and history, and continues to maintain the most comprehensive collection of Massachusetts state publications in existence. Its collection has been carefully and thoughtfully gathered for almost 200 years, and it forms a tremendous resource for all areas of Massachusetts research. The Library has an active program to make its collections available through public programs, exhibitions, and digitization.

 

The State Library’s Special Collections Department includes items that need special care due to their age, fragility, or format. Holdings comprise rare books, manuscripts, broadsides, newspapers, tax valuations, architectural drawings, prints and photographs, scrapbooks, and souvenirs. The collection is particularly strong in nineteenth and twentieth-century city directories, maps, and atlases.

 

State Library internships are unpaid, but provide students with valuable work experience in a unique library setting. The library is conveniently located in downtown Boston in the Massachusetts State House, one block from the Park Street MBTA station. Our operating hours are Monday through Friday 9-5.

 

For more information, contact the Preservation Librarian: [email protected]. To apply for this internship, please send a cover letter and resume to [email protected].