Each student’s path to joining the School of Information is unique. I’ve spoken to people who joined out of a personal love for libraries and a belief in public access to knowledge, and others who started to figure out their path while taking classes.

Whatever your own reasoning is, it’s true that hands-on experience, in whichever discipline you’ve chosen, adds a huge level of connection to your studies and prospective career. Gaining experience through internships and volunteer opportunities at an institution where you hope to work after your iSchool studies allows you to learn from professionals in your field, contribute to team projects and goals, and engage in meaningful work that supports the organization’s success. It not only makes your resume shine, it can also open doors down the road through the networking you’re engaging in. That’s why working in places like libraries, archives and other information hubs can contextualize your work and help you narrow down your unique path as a student in the iSchool.

Internship Opportunity Broadens Interest in Archival Work  

I wasn’t familiar with archives at all before starting an internship at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History (MAH) while an undergraduate student at the University of California, Santa Cruz. I applied for it as a hopeful future GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums) professional, wanting to know more about the realities of a career in museums and archives. Like many interns who venture into archives, my project involved executing a large-scale digitization project, where I cataloged and wrote metadata for a 15-box collection of queer archives from Santa Cruz County. After interacting with such interesting material, learning the history and achievements of amazing community members (some of whom I got to meet at later receptions), and loving the attention-to-detail-centered work, I knew that archives was what I wanted to do long-term.

Volunteer Opportunities For Expanding Your Skillset and Interests 

As many LIS professionals and students know, digitization is one of the biggest priorities for GLAM institutions as they implement best practices for managing physical collections. With our world becoming increasingly online, our archives need to follow suit—not only to extend their shelf life but also to make information more accessible than ever before. So how can you test the waters to see if archival work is right for you? 

I’m a big advocate for scouring your local community for LIS-related opportunities that expose you to the daily routines and job demands within a field you’re interested in. For archival work, there are likely many local opportunities to volunteer in archives or on specific projects.  For example, I recently pursued an inside look into the archive volunteer program at the Santa Cruz Public Library (SCPL) and learned all about the nuts and bolts of the program.

The Impact of Volunteers at Santa Cruz Public Library

Libraries are the first place people think of when imagining a physical information hub, and they often contain much more than just the stacks. At SCPL, they house thousands of archival records related to all things Santa Cruz history—from the city’s iconic Victorian architecture to the many religious groups that call the area home.

The SCPL’s archives are largely volunteer-run. Volunteers digitize and catalog collections to gain more insight into LIS work and/or to fulfill a personal passion for history. Whatever their reasons, there’s no doubt their efforts are significant. I spoke with volunteer coordinator Laamie Young about the program, and she reflected:

“All of our archive work is being done by volunteers- many of which are working on the MILS degrees. Our library will be moving to a new location in a few years and we cannot bring our archived materials and collections with us- so this project is of huge importance!”

To learn more about the day-to-day work, I talked to volunteer and museum professional Bronwyn Eyre about her experience archiving with SCPL. Here’s a summary of that conversation: 

Rebecca: Thank you for chatting with me about your experience with the archiving program! To kick things off, what have your first impressions been of the program?

Bronwyn: One of the first things that I noticed is that there’s actually a pretty big volunteering team, and they all seem to really care about the work they’re doing—even though it’s not paid, which is pretty cool.

Rebecca: What do you think you’ve learned about digitization projects from the program?

Bronwyn: I’ve noticed that archival work seems to be changing pretty fast right now, at least in terms of transitioning to more web-based systems. At least at the downtown branch, they’re trying to digitize most of their collections before moving to the new location, so that’s the main focus right now.

Rebecca: What have been your takeaways on archives as a field?

Bronwyn: I’ve realized how much public archives institutions like SCPL or the MAH rely on private collections and donations from community members who have really dedicated a lot of time to preserving local history. It’s a little weird to think about how that dynamic might change with everything being online now, but it is super cool to go through different collections and see what kinds of documents, articles, or artifacts they thought were worth saving.

Exploring Opportunities In Your Local Community 

If you’re interested in getting involved with your local community and learn more about the LIS and GLAM fields, keep your eyes peeled for opportunities in your area.

Some to look out for:

• Transcription projects at local museums and historical societies: Transcriptions offer another kind of digitization. Many collections contain letters, diaries, and other written communication from before the 20th century, which need to be typed on a word processor to preserve the content. Check your local museum’s collection guides and finding aids to see if they have old diaries, and then email their archives team to see if they have capacity and demand for a volunteer to do this work.
   
• Digitization projects at local museums and historical societies: As explored in this blog, many museums and historical societies are prioritizing and/or receiving grants to undergo long-term digitization projects. You can check the organization’s social media for mentions of current projects or visit the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) homepage—which grants funding to organizations nationally—to see if any institutions in your area have received funding for digitization work.
   
• Volunteer positions at online libraries: If online work is more your style, organizations like Internet Archive are always taking volunteers for a variety of projects related to archives and records. You can gain experience working with digital materials and learn more about a nonprofit’s culture and work style—all without leaving your couch!
   

These are just some additional ways to get experience beyond traditional internships that you might see in your inbox under [OPPORTUNITIES], which is another great resource for getting involved. Online learning offers a wealth of benefits to students, but connecting with your community and applying your learned skills is another vital asset to LIS education.