Digital Cataloging and Review/History Internships, Dickinson State University (Remote)
Posted February 28, 2025
Description:
The Theodore Roosevelt Center at Dickinson State University is seeking interns to participate in the cataloging of historical documents in the Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. The goal of the Center is to preserve and analyze the legacy of America’s 26th president, and to serve scholars, tourists, teachers, curious citizens, and students of all ages by making documents and resources available to illuminate Roosevelt’s life and the period he lived in. The Theodore Roosevelt Center’s Digital Library is the primary portal the Center uses to pursue this goal, and already provides access to more than 100,000 items from 45 different collections at www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org.
The Center currently holds over 250,000 digitized documents from the Theodore Roosevelt Papers at the Library of Congress, including letters, newspaper clippings, speeches, photographs, maps, and personal diaries. Around 25,000 additional items have been digitized from other collections, including National Park Sites, Harvard College Library, private collections, and others. In order to make these digital files easily accessible to the public, the Center is seeking interns to help with creation of item-level metadata for these documents in our online database. Interns will work a minimum of 240 hours (over 10 to 13 weeks), participating in all facets of the development of the digital library. These will include identifying item creators and recipients, describing items, and assigning appropriate subject headings. Participants will additionally review the work of other catalogers to make sure all standards are being met, and evaluate the copyright status of collection items.
In addition to working with the digital materials in the Theodore Roosevelt Center’s collections, candidates selected for the internship will be given the opportunity to contribute to the Theodore Roosevelt Center’s interpretive content. These materials, such as articles and timelines, use the same subject headings as the items in the digital library to enhance the relationship with primary source documents. Projects can include encyclopedia entries, blog posts, or other projects using digital humanities tools of their own choosing. While these projects are not required, we encourage interns to take advantage of this opportunity to use the materials they have worked with to produce a tangible product they can add to their work portfolio.
Compensation:
As the work is web-based, internships will be conducted remotely without the need for relocation. Online training will be provided, and staff will be available throughout the internship to ask questions or supplement information through further video calls and message boards. A moderate stipend will be provided ($1,000/month, for a total of $3,000). Internships are to be completed between June 1 and August 31, 2025.
Required qualifications:
- Graduate students (at least one year of studies completed by June 2025) or recent master’s-level graduates in history or American studies, archival studies, library science or information management.
- Knowledge of, or interest in, Theodore Roosevelt and American History in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
- Strong oral and written communication skills.
- Attention to detail; commitment to accurate, high-quality work.
- Self-motivated worker, as all work will be done remotely.
Desired qualifications:
- Experience working in digital collections, particularly creating metadata/catalog records.
- Knowledge of digital standards, particularly Dublin Core and controlled vocabularies.
- Ability to read cursive and handwritten materials.
- Experience with genealogical research and sources (i.e. Findagrave.com, Ancestry.com)
How to Apply:
Send PDFs of a letter of application (including your reasons for interest in this internship), resume, and unofficial transcript to Erik Johnson, TRC Co-Director, at [email protected]. Applications must be received by 7:30am (MDT) on March 17, 2025 for consideration.