The UC Irvine Libraries offer internships for students enrolled in ALA accredited library and information science graduate programs. We seek interns who are interested in pursuing a career in academic librarianship and who will bring enthusiasm and creativity to their internship project. It is expected that interns will be receiving from three to four credits at their institutions, and the interns' commitments will therefore range from 120 to 180 hours, depending upon the requirements of the intern’s academic program. These internships are unpaid.
The following are examples of possible internship projects at the UC Irvine Libraries. New internship opportunities are offered as new projects and activities develop. If you are interested in pursuing an internship in the UC Irvine Libraries, please send an application by email to Kathryn Kjaer, kkjaer@uci.edu (phone: 949-824-8521).
Your application should include:
- a brief résumé
- a cover letter that explains the library services, specialties, projects of interest to you
- your qualifications, including a list of any courses taken that are relevant to the specific internship(s) desired
- a description of your career goals
- the number of hours required for the internship and what quarter(s) you would like to do the internship
Below are some examples of the types of internships we may offer. Actual internship positions may vary and may not be available every quarter.
Acquisitions Department: Electronic Resources
An internship in Electronic Resources offers the motivated student the opportunity to gain experience acquiring and maintaining items for the Libraries’ electronic collections. Students will participate in and learn the following:
- Ordering and activating electronic resources
- Maintaining a link resolver
- Using an Electronic Resources Management System (ERMS), including coverage load, usage statistics analysis and license management
- An understanding of the elements of a license agreement, as it pertains to negotiation as well as coding for ERMS data.
- The process of negotiating and executing a license agreement
A full semester or two quarter commitment by the student is preferred. An effort will be made to tailor the internship to meet both the learning outcomes desired by the student and the functional needs of the department.
Cataloging and Metadata Services
Internships in the Cataloging and Metadata Services Department offer students the ability to assist and learn from experienced catalogers in various cataloging/metadata projects. Interns will gain experience with MARC cataloging and database maintenance and with cataloging tools including RDA Toolkit, OCLC Connexion and Ex Libris Alma.
Potential projects may include:
- Special Collections cataloging
- Name authority record creation and editing
- Electronic resources cataloging
Collection Strategies
Internships in Collection Strategies offer students the ability to assist and learn from experienced bibliographers in collections development/management projects. Potential projects may include such activities as the following:
- Collections analysis & assessment for specific subject areas
- Assessment of collections for weeding and/or storage
- Creating and updating subject web pages called “libguides”
- Assessment & data collection re electronic resources for specific subject areas
- Working with subject librarians to prepare subject-based instruction sessions for upper-division and graduate students.
- Assisting with digital services projects that help to create or disseminate knowledge
- Assisting with activities and projects related to scholarly communication and the information lifecycle
The projects will be determined by the intern's area of subject expertise and interest, as well as individual bibliographers' pending projects and time availability. Completion of a "collection development" course is not required, but is certainly a plus.
Collection Strategies – Science and Engineering Focus
An internship is available for a student to work under the direction of a senior science librarian on several different projects. The intern will have the opportunity to learn about science and technology collection development, data management, bibliographic citation, and research metrics and altmetrics in an academic library context. The intern will gain insight into how the current trends and changes in higher education and library collections are influencing library activities and services. The student should have an interest in social media and the creative use of emerging technologies in professional research and should have an interest in or educational background in science and engineering subject areas and library publishing activities and related topics..
Digital Scholarship Services
An internship in Digital Scholarship Services (DSS) provides the motivated student an opportunity to participate in work that transforms research and scholarly communication using new media and digital technologies. Areas of focus in DSS include: open access publishing, digital preservation, digital humanities, data curation and management, computer coding for research, geographic information systems and more.
Internship projects may include:
- Working with DSS librarians to prepare and teach lessons on a range of topics
- Creating and updating web pages, such as LibGuides, to educate users on digital scholarship topics
- Contributing to ongoing DSS projects
Projects will be selected with the intern's subject expertise and interests in mind.
Education and Outreach
Internships in the Department of Education and Outreach offer students the opportunity to work with experienced instruction librarians and to participate in instruction activities, including syllabi and web development, and teaching. Potential projects may include activities such as the following:
- Development of interactive tutorials on topics such as plagiarism.
- Creating and updating web pages to educate users on information literacy.
- Teaching instruction sessions designed to introduce general or specific library resources and services.
- Development of assessment tools that measure the effectiveness of library instruction.
- Working with Education and Outreach staff to design and teach sessions to students at all levels and on a variety of topics.
The projects will be determined by the intern's area of expertise and interest, as well as the Department’s priorities for instruction.
Reference Department
Internships in the Reference Department will provide students with the opportunity to work with experienced reference librarians to assist in a variety of services and to learn about the provision of quality reference service. The Langson Library contains the collections and services that support research and teaching in the Arts, Humanities, Education, Social Sciences, Social Ecology, and Business & Management. The Science Library contains the collections and services that support research and teaching in the Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences, Computer and Information Sciences, Engineering, and the Health Sciences.
Potential aspects of this internship are:
- Providing reference and information assistance at main reference desk in the Langson Library.
- Assisting with the development and maintenance of library web pages, including libguides.
- Assisting in various assessment projects, using statistical data and assessment strategies.
Interns should have some background or significant interest in public service. Some background in data analysis techniques would be desirable, but not required. Specific projects will be determined by the intern’s area of expertise and interest, as well as department projects and needs at the time of the internship. Students who can commit to a two-quarter internship are preferred. The intern will work directly with a librarian on a specific project, in addition to working with others within the department at the reference desk or on other tasks.
Special Collections and Archives
An internship in Special Collections and Archives offers students the opportunity to gain experience processing archival collections. Interns will be trained to arrange, preserve, and describe one or more collections according to local and national standards. They will work closely with a Special Collections & Archives librarian. Interns may expect to gain experience
- Developing processing plans,
- Recommending appraisal actions,
- Organizing and housing materials in multiple formats,
- Describing collections using Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS),
- Implementing some aspects of Greene and Meissner's "More Product, Less Process," and
- Creating EAD-encoded finding aids for the Online Archive of California
Projects will be selected with the intern's subject expertise and interests in mind. Completion of coursework in archival management is strongly preferred.