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Submitted by Benjamin Bromley, Jessica Miller, and Amy Schindler, 8/5/2010
An internship pilot project by the RAO Section was proposed at the meeting of the RAO Steering Committee at the 2009 SAA Annual Meeting and supported by the steering committee. The intent of the intern pilot project was to provide an opportunity for current graduate student(s) or archivist(s) with less than three years experience in the profession to be actively involved in and observe the activities of a section. Announcements were sent on August 30, 2009 to the RAO and Archives & Archivists listservs as well as the RAO News blog and Facebook group page (announcement attached). Five applications were received and reviewed by Amy Schindler (chair), Jim Gerencser (vice-chair), Nancy Melley (communications liaison), Beth Bensman (steering committee), and Kathy Marquis (steering committee). Benjamin Bromley and Jessica Miller were announced as RAO's inaugural interns on September 23 and via announcements on listservs on October 5.
The interns' primary responsibilities were to be in the area of communications, but also include other section initiatives based on the interests and needs of the intern and section. Both interns wrote blog posts, served as mentors in the pilot offering of 23 Things for Archivists, and participated in other routine discussions and business of the section steering committee. Jessica Miller has also been working with fellow RAO steering committee member Jill Severn on a project to develop a resource document that describes the core skills and competencies necessary to be effective as reference, access, or outreach archivists.
The interns agreed that participation provided a positive learning experience about collaborating with colleagues and committees that cannot meet face to face and the work of professional associations. They also found participation in the 23 Things pilot project to be worthwhile for this reason, as well as providing a tangible result. While the primary responsibilities were intended to be in the area of communications, the 23 Things project actually had a larger role in their experience. The RAO News blog component is an area in need of revisiting in the future as there is little commenting on posts and the system for drafting and posting itself was not as smooth as it could have been. The project was overall a positive experience and should be continued. Having a specific project for the intern(s) may be helpful in making it a more worthwhile experience beyond the experience of seeing a component of a profession association conduct business.
Announcement As Distributed in 2009
The Reference, Access, and Outreach Section (RAO) of the Society of American Archivists seeks volunteers for at least one unpaid section internship for 2009-2010. The intent of the intern pilot project is to provide an opportunity for a current graduate student or archivist with less than three years experience in the profession to be actively involved in and observe the activities of a section. The intern's primary responsibilities will be in the area of communications, but may include other section initiatives based on the interests and needs of the intern and section. The intern will serve from the time of selection through the 2010 SAA Annual Meeting (attendance at the 2010 Annual Meeting is not required).
Applicants should have a demonstrated interest in archives (such as work, volunteering, internships, and/or coursework). Also important are attention to detail, good organizational and communication skills, flexibility, and a sense of humor. The intern will be required to submit at least two news or other items to the RAO News blog, which may then be published in the RAO Newsletter and other venues.
Other responsibilities may include:
* Monitor the RAO blog and Facebook group for potential improvements, revisions and/or corrections, posts or comments requiring responses.
* Assist Webmaster as needed, particularly as SAA transitions to Drupal to support its online presence.
* Communicate with Steering Committee members regarding ongoing business, projects, concerns, etc.
* Participate in section projects, working groups, sub-committees, etc. as appropriate. Topics may include: needs identified in the RAO meeting discussion groups; ongoing projects of the section such as National History Day, impact of MPLP upon users and reference archivists, 2.0/social media education for archivists; or other identified priorities of the section.
To apply for the RAO Section internship, submit resume and cover letter detailing your reasons for interest in the internship, including potential topics of interest, to RAO Chair Amy Schindler (__@.edu) by September 11, 2009.