2020 Student Diversity and Inclusion Internship Program, Congressional Research Service (CRS), Washington, D.C.
Posted February 19, 2020
The Congressional Research Service (CRS), a service unit of the Library of Congress, is recruiting for its 2020 Student Diversity and Inclusion Internship Program (SDIIP) and would like to invite students affiliated with your program to apply. Students of underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply. Our staff is comprised of nationally-recognized experts and professionals in a broad range of subjects and disciplines, including law, economics, foreign affairs, the physical and behavioral sciences, environmental science, public administration, the social sciences, library and information science.
The internships are paid opportunities in Washington, D.C. for a period up to 10 weeks during the summer. Working in one of our research or administrative areas, interns will have the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to the mission of the agency which is: To serve the United States Congress throughout the legislative process by providing comprehensive and reliable legislative research and analysis that are timely, objective, authoritative and confidential, thereby contributing to an informed national legislature.
Office of Publishing – Content Management and Data Analytics Section
Intern will assist with daily content management tasks including data set clean up, status changes, file migrations, associate roper top level terms and entering and assigning metadata tagging. Intern will also provide assistance on the CRS Enterprise wide Taxonomy project, capturing input from stakeholders, updating documentation and formatting data for standard templates. Intern will support the automate taxonomy tool pilot by documenting functionality and test results. In addition, intern will prepare data for data metrics site; identify, organize, digitize and dispose of materials based on record management plans. Intern should also have knowledge of and experience working with information structures as well as have knowledge of taxonomies and/or ontologies.
Applicants should have understanding of website development, IT skills, organizational skills, excellent attention to detail, and the ability to work independently.
Intern should be pursuing a Masters of library science, information science or information management.
Office of Publishing – PUB Graphics Section
The intern will apply technical knowledge and graphic design principles in the formatting and visualization of complex information. The visual information intern will assist in the editing and design of visual materials for CRS general distribution products and internal collateral. The intern will organize and work with content and graphics in multiple formats such as text, charts, images, illustrations, and video. Intern should know to use Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, After Effects); Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word); graphic design; data visualization.
Intern should be creative, and able to advise on best formats and layout options to communicate information effectively. Intern should able to visually “tell a story”. Students enrolled in graphics design, data visualization, visual/digital/multimedia arts, communications/policy analysis with advanced graphic design coursework are encouraged to apply.
Domestic Social Policy – Research and Library Services Section
Intern will assist with maintenance of two research portal sites in SharePoint. One site is focused on immigration and one on child care. This involves adding content, cleaning up metadata, and developing a strategy to assess various files currently living on a shared drive for possible inclusion. Intern will also develop a document or spreadsheet that tracks Federal Register notices related to Temporary Protected Status. This involves identifying notices, capturing selected information from them, and finding additional information about the administration in power when each notice was issued. Intern will update information about coverage dates for particular types of documents/collections found in various databases. Intern will assist with research for congressional requests as needed and assist with other ad hoc, short-term projects that may arise.
Intern must have familiarity with SharePoint and with database searching, Candidate must be pursuing, intend to pursue, or who have obtained a Master of Library Science (or Master of Library and Information Science, or similar degrees).
Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade – Europe and the Americas Section
Intern support work in tracking security and human rights developments in Mexico. Intern could help update short products based on experience and skills. Intern may also help track and update several products for Congress related to Venezuela. Latin America or development majors; ideally Spanish major or minor graduate student or rising seniors preferred.
The successful candidate should be fluent in Spanish; interest in security and development issues and possess strong writing and research skills.
Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade – Middle East/Africa Section
Intern will work closely with research assistants to support the section. Intern will complete thorough literature review on the topic of Women in the Middle East and North Africa. Students who have strong writing skills, and regional background in the Middle East and North Africa would be helpful.
Ideally a graduate student or a rising senior with experience as a research assistant would be a strong candidate.
Government and Finance – Research and Library Services
The intern will work collaboratively with CRS librarians and policy experts on projects that develop their skills in reference, research, and collections management and organization. The intern may participate in interacting with congressional clients; negotiating the content and deadlines of time sensitive requests; developing and implementing complex research methodologies; forming, and conferring with, ad hoc teams of experts to advise on research questions; and developing careful and focused written responses that are subject to multiple stages of review. Intern will be able to attend training sessions presented by CRS on the legislative process and public policy issues of interest to the Members. Intern will also attend internal training sessions on topics such as tracking action on bills throughout the legislative process, compiling Member voting records on public policy issues, understanding the appropriations process, searching within commercial and proprietary databases, and the effective use of commercial software and web tools.
Student should possess strong reference, research, writing, and knowledge of Excel; collections management and organization in a research library. Undergraduate or graduate students enrolled in Library-related degrees such as Library Science, Information Studies, Information Science are encouraged to apply.
Resources, Science and Industry – Research and Library Services
Seeking an intern for the Research and Library Science section, which supports the work of Congress in issue areas including earth sciences, natural resources, environmental policy, energy and minerals, agriculture and food, science, technology, transportation, and industry. Under the direction of the Section Head and working with other CRS librarians, the intern will assess, inventory, organize, catalog, and preserve RSI’s extensive print research collections, as well as assist in digital library initiatives. The intern will contribute to increasing CRS’s awareness of some of its unique research collections. The intern will help increase access to these collections by creating finding aids and other access points, as well as promote awareness of these collections within CRS.
Student should have experience in cataloging or creating metadata, attention to detail, thoroughness, and initiative, as well as be an experienced user of Excel and SharePoint. Note: The work will require moving some books and other printed material. Some of the material is likely to be dusty. Applicants should be in a Master’s and/or Bachelor’s degree in Library and/or Information Science. Applicants may also be enrolled in Information Technology, Archives and Records Management, History, Political Science, Public Policy programs.
Compensation
Starting salaries will be $12.22/hour to $28.53/hour, dependent upon the grade of the position.
Application Instructions
To apply, send an email to [email protected] that includes: 1) the position(s) you wish to apply for 2) your resume and 3) official or unofficial transcripts. The deadline to apply is March 20, 2020. U.S. Citizenship is required. Interns may be eligible for the Metro Transit Subsidy Program. For more information about CRS, please go to http://www.loc.gov/crsinfo/.