Library Internships with a Brooklyn Accent:

A Variety of Hosts, a Diversity of Participants,

and Opportunities for Collaboration

Beth EvansBrooklyn College Library

Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, CUNY

Abstract

Libraries in Brooklyn, New York may represent the perfect coming together of what the New York Times has described as a profession for hipsters,1 in what the New York Observer has called the hippest borough in NYC. 2 Not only is Brooklyn a hotbed for rising talent in the arts and music, but it has provided a training ground for librarian-hopefuls and others considering working in a library. One of the advantages for a library of being in the New York City metropolitan area is access to a diverse population of potential interns, coming from library schools and from other sources. For interns, the variety of possible library work sites in the City can’t be beat. Brooklyn libraries of all types -- academic, public, special and school-- have welcomed interns into their organizations. Internships have provided both an opportunity for those not in the profession to learn about the work of libraries and for the hosts to benefit from the energy and creativity of newcomers who look at libraries with fresh eyes and new ideas. Moreover, opportunities for collaboration abound in a city where major cultural and educational institutions are a subway ride away. Discover some of the library internship programs in New York City’s most populous borough. Listen as they speak to you with a “Brooklyn accent.”

• 1

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/08/fashion/08librarian.html?adxnnl=1&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1351803669-MTpXnVAalgGVsa+jgrrtWA

• 2http://observer.com/2012/07/mta-may-give-hipsters-a-bus-to-traverse-over-williamsburg-bridge/

Problem Statement

What does a library need to consider in order to run a successful internship program, with any accent?

Steps to Success

• Get organized• Recruit• Get down to business• Finish up• Stay in touch

Get Organized

• Plan the scope, length, number of interns you are willing to host at a time

• Consider a collaboration• Seek funding (IMLS)• Design an orientation• Create a syllabus• Recruit & screen applicants• Keep track with a spreadsheet• Pass on responsibilities to the interns themselves

Recruit• Outreach to library schools

– Five library schools are sources in the New York City area (Queens College, CUNY, St. John’s U, Palmer School, LIU, Pratt Institute, Rutgers U)

– Consider reaching beyond the local library schools • students studying elsewhere home for summer break (SUNY Albany)• students living locally but studying through a distance learning program (Clarion U,

Syracuse U)– Contact listservs targeting students– Ask library schools to hang your flyer

• Outreach at events (conferences, meetings, etc.)• Build a library and they will find you

– Interns find you on the Internet or through other means (UWI, Stuttgart, Shanghai)– Interns tell others about their experience

• Consider non-library school students– Internship program at your larger institution – High school students (on campus; schools with internship programs)– Career changers

• Consider post-degree professionals

Get Down to Business

• Public Services– Reference desk shadowing– Chat reference staffing– Class instruction: observation and leadership

• Technical Services– Digitization

• Unit visits• Meetings – department, institution, partner institutions, library

organizations• Special projects – short term and long term• Mentorships & pairing with subject specialists – within and outside the

institution • Professional activities (e.g., attending and or presenting at conferences,

publishing)

The Four Sites

Brooklyn College Library

Madison High School Library

Brooklyn Public Library

Brooklyn Museum Library

Brooklyn College Library Internship Program

• 1994 - No history of internship program before my employment as an intern• 1996 – Library school of the University of the West Indies, Mona, approaches

Brooklyn College Library to host students doing a required practicum• 1998 - The internship program in the Brooklyn College Library goes local hosting

a single library school student• 1999 – First high school student employed as an intern• 2001 – First hosting of intern doing practicum for degree from

Universitätsbibliothek Stuttgart • 2003 – Three month hosting of visiting librarian from

Shanghai Jiao Tong University (runs concurrent with one week hosting of visiting Russian librarians as part of the Open World Leadership Program )

• 2006 – Multi-intern cohort reaches new high of three interns simultaneously employed

• 2009 – Intern cohort of seven (peak) employed in a single semester• 2012 – Six interns currently employed

Brooklyn College Library Internship Syllabus, p 1-2

Brooklyn College Library Internship Spreadsheet

Special Projects

• Myspace/Facebook development• Organizing the philosophy department

library • Reference collection weeding• Multi-lingual information literacy modules• MLK Literacy Project• Children’s book author talk for School of

Education• E-book carousels and web page

enhancements• Mobile web services development• Pre-medical student online workbook• Government Documents training• Disability services training for librarians• Random Act of Culture production

Madison High School Internship Program

• Student, who had worked as a library monitor, initiated internship

• Had finished all of her Madison High School credits early and wanted to do an internship as her senior year work

• Attended City-as-School to take advantage of internship opportunities and the formal program

• Asked Madison HS to arrange for a joint internship with Brooklyn College Library and Madison HS, since Madison HS librarian had a contact at BC

Brooklyn Public Library Multicultural Internship Program (MIP)

• Began in 2009 • BPL received a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library

Services • Reflects the commitment of the library to serving the needs of the

diverse people of Brooklyn and to providing a quality learning experiences for young people

• High school students from throughout New York City • Students complete 30-50 hours of training, visit research libraries

throughout the city, and spend time with mentors in branches throughout the borough assisting with programming, public service, electronic databases, community outreach, archives and special collections.

• For more on the MIP, visit the program blog at http://misc.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/mipmap/

Brooklyn Museum Internship Program• The Brooklyn Museum has a robust internship program in many departments of the institution that have included students

in high school through graduate school

• The museum library, through Diedre Lawrence, has collaborated with Pratt through an IMLS grant, but has also hosted post-MLS interns and retirees

• The library internship application process is competitive (usually two out of five are chosen each year) for a full year internship

• Most library interns have an undergraduate degree in art history

• The museum library looks to see that the interns have the pre-requisite course work to do library work such as digital scanning, inventorying, processing, copyright, but their individual interests of the interns are also taken into account

• Pratt negotiates the credits granted and provides a stipend

• Not all interns are planning on working in art libraries; some want to work in academic libraries, whereas others have wound up working for art collectors, in a fashion archive and other non-traditional positions.

• Lawrence would like to broaden the collaborations beyond Pratt

High School Students

The Interns

The Interns

Library School Students

Undergraduates

Post-MLS

Career Changers

The Interns

Conclusion: Benefits for All!

• Interns– Gain broad experience (in contrast to student

workers with more limited responsibilities and opportunities to learn)

– Build a resume– Get a sense of desired career direction– In cohorts, gain from peers and mentor others – Acquire life-long mentors– Balance ideals of theory with the realities of practice

Benefits for the Library

• Libraries– Interns are eager employees, eager to learn and eager to work– Interns bring new ideas, fresh from school– Interns are not constrained by job descriptions– Interns may provide the extra needed employees for short-term

projects– Interns may take on projects that can be passed on from one group

to another– Interns may diversify the workplace– Libraries contribute to the profession by offering individuals before,

during and after undergoing a formal library science education a unique opportunity to appreciate and participate in a real library work experience

• Thank you!• Beth Evans• bevans@brooklyn.cuny.edu