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Description
The Conservation Program Internship in book, paper, or photograph conservation is for conservation graduate students or emerging conservators with similar experience and offers a unique combination of five individually compelling elements:
- Tackle conservation problems in a collection of unmatched size, deep in scope and focus
- Work and learn in the largest special collections conservation lab in the U.S., with over 18 book, paper, and photograph conservators, and more than a half dozen additional preservation specialists with wide-ranging expertise
- Take part in the expert consultant workshops the lab organizes (and pays for) in-house
- Collaborate with preservation scientists embedded in a full analytical laboratory
- Participate in high-profile opportunities for public engagement in preservation (put a favorite internship treatment online; volunteer at the National Book Festival; give a lecture for Preservation Week; and more)
The internship runs from September to August* and concludes with the publication of a project of choice on the Conservation Division website, and a final presentation by the intern to the lab on the year's accomplishments.
* Conservation graduate students who cannot commit to the full academic year schedule may still apply, but will not be eligible for consideration to receive a stipend.
Internship Details
Senior conservators in the student's specialty (book, paper, or photograph) work closely with the intern and oversee the year's work. Collaborative projects with the other conservation program interns in the lab (each year the lab usually has one book and one paper intern; some years one in each specialty) are possible and encouraged. Time for conservation research can be made and is supported by the Preservation Directorate Research Resource Center and the collections at the Library.
Internship activities include:
- Examination, Documentation, Analysis, Treatment
- Collection Surveying
- Exhibition/Loan and Digitization preparation
- Lab Maintenance
- Preventive Conservation (e.g., environmental monitoring, collections housing, emergency preparedness, and collection surveying)
- Conservation Research
- Raising Awareness for Preservation and Conservation (e.g., through speaking and writing)
- Conservation Professional Activities (e.g., visiting other area labs, participating in the Washington Conservation Guild Interns/Fellows group)
Application Instructions and Process
The Conservation Program Internship is open to any conservation graduate student or emerging conservator with similar experience in in book, paper, or photograph conservation. International conservation students must have English fluency, evidence of sufficient financial support for living in the Washington, D.C. area for the internship term, health insurance coverage valid in the U.S., and be eligible for a U.S. J-1 visa.
The internship runs from September to August* and concludes with the publication of a project of choice on the Conservation Division website, and a final presentation by the intern to the lab on the year's accomplishments.
All conservation students and prospective interns are welcome to visit the lab and meet the conservation staff at any time of the year.
Application Materials
A complete application (only complete applications will be reviewed) consists of:
- Preservation Application Form [PDF: 174 KB / 4 pp.] - Indicate book, paper, or photograph specialty in the first pull-down box
- Formal letter of interest
- Résumé
- Two letters of recommendation (one from conservation school faculty, if applicable)
Please follow the instructions at the top of the application form. The entire application package should be submitted by email.
Application Schedule
- November 1 - December 15: Applications accepted
- January: Applicants submit portfolio (e.g., written and photographic treatment documentation); interviews conducted
- February: Applicants notified
- September: Internship begins
Stipend
A small stipend (~ $5,000) is offered to supplement the funds provided to the students in the U.S. conservation graduate schools during their final year.
Contact
Yasmeen Khan
Conservation Division
(202) 707-1036
[email protected]