Graduate Archival Processing Internship

Minnesota Historical Society • Saint Paul, MN

3d • Onsite

About The Position

The Archival Processing Intern will gain hands-on, practical experience in the arrangement, description, and preservation of physical and/or digital archival collections. Under the close mentorship of professional staff, the intern will focus heavily on creating structured, standard-compliant finding aids within ArchivesSpace. MNHS is currently migrating its EAD finding aids into the ASpace database and need help ingesting the legacy PDF, Word, and paper-based finding aids into ASpace.

Requirements

• Currently enrolled as a graduate student, or have graduated within the past 12 months at the time of application.
• Ideal candidates might be currently pursuing, or a graduate with a degree in the following areas: ALA-accredited Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS / MLS) program, or a Master’s in History with an Archival Studies concentration.
• Successful completion of foundational coursework in archival theory, arrangement, and description (highly preferred).
• Prior exposure to, or a strong willingness to learn, ArchivesSpace and XML-based schema (like EAD).
• Ability to summarize texts through writing.
• Ability to work well independently and in a team setting.
• Detail-oriented and ability to ask for help/clarity when needed.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Proactively motivated to share ideas and think outside the box.
• Experience with Google Suite and ArchivesSpace.

Nice To Haves

• Prior Coursework: Successful completion of foundational coursework in archival theory, arrangement, and description.

Responsibilities

• ArchivesSpace Data Entry: Learn and utilize the backend interface of ArchivesSpace to create collection-level resource records, component lists (series and folders), and accession records.
• Apply Descriptive Standards: Draft finding aids that comply with Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS) and utilize Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) for controlled vocabularies.
• Legacy Data Remediation: Assist in updating or converting older, legacy finding aids (from PDFs or word documents) into clean, structured ArchivesSpace records.
• Review unorganized or semi-organized materials to establish intellectual and physical order (sorting, boxing, and foldering).
• Perform basic preservation tasks, such as removing damaging fasteners (rusted staples, rubber bands) and housing fragile items in acid-free materials.
• Create container lists and inventories to map physical locations to the digital finding aid.
• Participate in departmental meetings to understand larger institutional workflows, collection policies, and donor relations.
• Complete a final processing project or presentation highlighting the completed collection and its historical significance.

Benefits

• Interns are required to participate in three, in-person seminars focused on professional development, learning how cultural organizations operate, and building a network of industry professionals.
• At the end of the semester, interns complete a final presentation to share their work.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Part-time
• Career Level: Intern