December 14, 2014 Library of Congress to Offer Junior Fellows Summer Internships

Press Contact: Audrey Fischer (202) 707-0022
Public Contact: Beatriz Haspo (202) 707-1131

The Library’s Junior Fellows Summer Internship Program once again is offering 10-week paid fellowships to college students.

For a stipend of $3,000, the 2015 class of Junior Fellows will work full-time with Library specialists and curators from June 1 through Aug. 7, 2015, to inventory, describe and explore collection holdings and to assist with digital-preservation outreach activities throughout the Library. The program aims to increase access to collections and awareness of the Library’s digital-preservation programs by making them better-known and available to Members of Congress, scholars, researchers, students, teachers and the general public.

The fellows will be exposed to a broad spectrum of library work: copyright deposits, digital preservation, reference, access standards and information management. Rare and unique treasures were processed by the 2014 Junior Fellows, from a collection of Mayan “poison flasks” dating from 300-700 AD (350-800 CE) that contained tobacco and other stimulants in the ancient culture, a rare 17th-century hand-illuminated Persian manuscript, a check from Marilyn Monroe to acting teacher Lee Strasberg for $90 (Strasberg was Monroe’s private acting coach) and an audition sheet showing Al Pacino’s first audition for the Actors Studio in 1961.

The program is made possible through the generosity of the late Mrs. Jefferson Patterson and the Knowledge Navigators Trust Fund. A gift from H.F. (Gerry) Lenfest, chairman emeritus of the Library’s James Madison Council private-sector advisory group, established the Knowledge Navigators Trust Fund, which will bring outstanding talent to the Library to benefit from first-hand interactions with its unparalleled collections, experts and programs and train future leaders for the information age. The goal of Knowledge Navigators is to energize innovation and creativity across all sectors by providing access to an expanding universe of information that is reliable and authentic.

Applications will be accepted online only at usajobs.gov, keyword: Junior Fellows from Monday, Dec. 15, 2014, through midnight, Friday, Jan. 23, 2015.

For more details about the program and information on how to apply, visit www.loc.gov/hr/jrfellows/. Questions about the program may be sent to interns2015@loc.gov.

The Library of Congress is an equal-opportunity employer. Women, minorities and persons with disabilities who meet eligibility requirements are strongly encouraged to apply.

Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution. The Library seeks to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs, publications and exhibitions. Many of the Library’s rich resources can be accessed through its website at www.loc.gov.

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PR 14-209
2014-12-15
ISSN 0731-3527