Employment and Internships


Internship Opportunities
Internships, usually unpaid, are available in a variety of departments. Interns are supervised by full-time professional staff and may interact with other staff, volunteers, consultants, and the public. Staff is willing to work with students to arrange university credit for their work, should it be available. Preferred applicants are those who are upper-level undergraduates or those working toward an M.A. in history, art history museum studies, education, or related field with an interest in working with museum collections or archives.

Current Opportunities by Department

Museum
Internships are unpaid.  Applications for the museum in the Summer 2012 are due by March 30.  Later applications may be considered.

Contact: Ellen Endslow, 610-692-4800 x257, eendslow@chestercohistorical.org

Tasks to be completed:
The tasks of the internship will include: data entry into collections management database software; original object cataloging or manuscript processing; digital photography or scanning; primary research; object handling and re-housing. The goal is to make these collections records more publicly accessible through an electronic medium. It is part of Phase I of a comprehensive and persistent electronic database that will enhance staff and public access to all collections information.

Skills required:
Attention to detail and flexibility are important. The ability to work with a variety of people is also essential. Clear communication skills, both written and verbal, will be useful in the work of cataloging as well as ensuring that the intern and staff person(s) understand each others’ questions and expectations.

Skills developed/products produced:
The concrete results for the intern and CCHS will be finding aids or scope notes, catalog records, properly housed historical materials, and possibly photographic documentation. Professional cataloging standards, processing collections and learning to understand how researchers might use these primary materials for analysis are a part of the learning experience as well.

Timing:
Internships are Monday through Friday during the day.

Education
Contact: Mary Galligan, sepaNHD@chestercohistorical.org

Tasks to be completed:
Tasks may include guiding and public contact, program development for National History Day, schools or the general public, and visitor evaluation. Interns may choose to specialize in an event, such as National History Day, or an audience, for example, school and youth, adult, or family.

Skills required:
Clear communication skills, both written and verbal, attention to detail and flexibility are important. The ability to work with a variety of people is also essential.

Skills developed/products produced:
Depending upon individual project, a student may produce a public or youth program from the planning through the implementation and evaluation phases.

Timing:
One to two interns at a time are possible, working generally Monday through Friday during the day. Programs, however, may occur in the evening or on the weekend.

Library
Contact: Diane Rofini, 610-692-4800 x226, drofini@chestercohistorical.org

Tasks to be completed:
Interns may process a small collection and write a guide to that collection. Processing a collection involves many aspects of research and analysis by the student; they will be working with primary source material. Students will have to figure out how the documents relate to each other and what story they tell. They will end up using many of our resources to do this. Collections often can be chosen based upon the historical time period or a particular interest of the students.

Skills required:
Attention to detail is a must! History majors and those who are thinking about archives/library careers preferred.

Skills developed/products produced:
Beside the library/archive overall experience, the collection guide will eventually get put on the Historical Society website, thus the intern will have a “publication” to list on his/her resume

Timing:
Tuesday through Friday during the day is the best time, though there may be some flexibility after the internship commences.

The Chester County Historical Society is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to non-discriminatory policies. All decisions regarding recruitment, hiring, promotion, and all other matters of employment will be made without regard to race, sex, age, religion, national origin or ancestry, marital status, sexual orientation, or non-job-related handicap and/or disability.