>> Dianna Gibbs: Welcome
everyone officially
to our Library of Congress
Internship Opportunities webinar
that is dedicated to
Career Center staff
and we really are delighted
to have you with us today
and very excited to
share information
about internships
here at the Library.
We have many career
path-widening internship
experiences to offer and
we'll aim to shed light
on how your students
might take part in those
over the course of the webinar.
So let's see what lies
ahead in the agenda.
We'll go to the next
slide please.
We have a simple and
straightforward agenda
for you today accompanied
by images
of real-life internship
experiences from the past
that you can see over there
on the right-hand side
as I go through our items.
So first our Chief
of Talent Recruitment
and Outreach will provide
a big picture overview
of Library internships for us.
Then next, I, Dianna will
spotlight an upcoming
opportunity that is opening
soon, later this month
and finally, questions
and conversation.
We'll address your
questions and open the floor
for conversation during that
time but please do feel free
to type questions and any
comments that you might have
into the chat at any
time for safekeeping.
So with that, I am pleased
to introduce Kimberly Powell.
Kimberly, you have
our attention.
>> Kimberly Powell:
Thanks so much,
Dianna and welcome everyone.
I would love to just
add my welcome
to those who joined us today.
We're hoping that
this is the first
of hopefully other conversations
that we'll have to share
about things that we're doing
at the Library of Congress
and to hear a little more
about some of the needs
that the students you
represent have an interest
so that we can make sure
that we're customizing
and making sure that we're
creating really great
experiences for them.
Next slide please.
Yeah, I am the Chief of Talent
Recruitment and Outreach
and that is in our [inaudible]
at the Library of Congress.
And I've been here at the
Library since starting
as a management consultant
in the year 2000
when I thought I'd be
here for about 3 years.
And after about a year, it
was a pretty certain thing
that I'd want to stay at
the Library and found it
to just be a fascinating place,
so I've worked the majority
of my career here now.
My background is in
management consulting,
that's how I first
came to the Library.
They happened to be looking
for a management
consultant specifically.
And I never would've
thought that the Library
of Congress would have
needed our services but now
that I'm here, I have a
much better vantage point
for the needs and what it takes
to run an organization like ours
and really excited to have this
opportunity to do more outreach
for both permanent staff
and then also for the staff
that come to us temporarily
through internships
and fellowship programs.
So I'd like to start,
I always like starting
with this slide just
to kind of [inaudible]
so again this is [inaudible]
so this is taken in 2019.
What you'll see here in
the foreground is one
of our junior fellows, one
of our interns at a forum
that we created, that
we do this every, every,
we do this 3 times a year with
the Library's senior-most leader
so [inaudible] you'll
see them, they're talking
to our Principal Deputy
Librarian, they're talking
to our Librarian of
Congress Dr. Carla Hayden,
our [inaudible] librarian
and then our Chief
of Staff Ryan Ramsey
there on the right.
And we bring them in so they
can actually ask questions
about leadership and careers
and just have a little bit
of a group mentoring
opportunity.
After they've been
here for several weeks
and know the place, this is
one of the culminating things
that they get to do
here at the Library.
We have a mission overall
of providing opportunities
for students and
emerging professionals.
We know that they're coming to
us with these wonderful skills.
We want them to leverage
those skills and expand them
through contributing to
things that we're doing here
at the Library that are
really aligned to our mission.
So the types of projects
that our interns
and fellows get a chance to
work on are priority projects
for the Library and we bring
them in to work alongside of us.
We now have developed
capability to do
that both in-person
and remotely.
I'm feeling very
comfortable in that space now.
And so our interns get to have
a really unique opportunity
to do things here
at the Library.
Our vision, that aspirational
piece about where we're going,
is that all the interns
and fellows are active
and engaged alumni ambassadors.
And so what do we mean by that?
When they leave the library,
we know again they're
with us typically anywhere
from 10 to 15 weeks,
when they leave us; we
want them to have had
such a good experience.
Have really to know what the
library is, how it connects
with their research
interests, how it connects
with their personal
interests, because it does both
and it can do both so that
they're clearly knowledgeable
about the Library and we
treated them really well
and they've got enduring
relationships
so that one day they'll maybe
come back and work for us.
And one day they'll send
their interns to work with us.
They'll realize that we can be
supportive to them regardless
of their phase of life and that
they'll really be ambassadors
for us and stay engaged
and remaining connected
to the Library.
So that's, that's really
how we see interns.
We know that they
are here coming to us
at a very special
time in their lives.
Typically, our interns are
probably are very often college
juniors and above.
They've typically been
in school for just a bit.
They typically have had some
many instances have had some
previous internship-like
experience; we're seeing
that more and more often.
But they get to come
to us and work
with a really supportive
staff on a number
of different dimensions
to make sure
that their experiences
are exemplary.
Next slide, please.
And so when we talk about really
prioritizing their experience,
we've come up with
6 core competencies
that we are really looking
to make sure that each
of our interns has a
chance to expand upon.
One is the Library of Congress
Institutional Awareness, again,
understanding the place.
We have over 3200 staff members;
it's a very large
organization and operation.
And it's just important to us
that they understand the
Library, its many facets
and understanding in that just
short amount of time is not easy
so we have some things
that we put together
to make that possible.
Knowledge of federal
employment, just making sure
that they understand what it
takes to be more competitive
when they are applying
for jobs whether it's here
or any place else, frankly,
but we really do try
to emphasize what it's like
for the federal government.
And we want them to
develop their relationships
and we want them to
maintain them with each other
in their cohorts, with other
in terms across the Library.
We have a number of
deliberate, weekly opportunities
and bi-weekly opportunities
for them to connect
with other interns
across the institution,
so that's another thing I think
that's unique about what you get
to be and do as an interns
at the Library of Congress.
Certainly, communication
in all of its forms.
Also knowing more about the
occupation that they hope to go
into or want to explore.
We've got lots of
opportunities to work on that.
And then, leadership and
individual responsibility,
right, being able
to lead themselves.
It's one thing to do it
at school, you all know.
It's another thing to
do it in the workplace.
And all of our interns have
opportunities to lead themselves
and sometimes segments
of projects as well
and really get a
chance to expand
and to really apply those skills
that they're bringing to us.
Next slide please.
And I always smile when I
get to this slide because I'm
from both D.C. and New York.
Literally, I'm from both
places and spending most
of my younger years here in
the D. C. metropolitan area.
And when I thought about the
Library of Congress, I really,
I thought librarians 100%.
And I wasn't interested in
being a librarian, I love them,
but I wasn't interested
in that as an occupation.
And so the Library
was not on my radar.
And then many years after I
went to college and worked
in the private sector
for a number of years
and did management consulting
on Wall Street and other places,
I had an opportunity
to come to the Library
as a management consultant.
And I was just blown away by
the scale of the operation.
And I walked away understanding
that, as I prepared
for my interview at the
Library, that it takes all
of these professions to make
the Library run, so everything
that you would need,
we need attorneys,
we need special events people,
we need scientists who work
in our career labs
and engineers.
We need librarians as well.
All these different
occupations, they're here
at the Library in
our staff of 3200.
And it's not always
only the librarians,
although we have certainly
unparalleled resources in terms
of our librarians here at
the Library of Congress.
And so the one takeaway for
this slide for all of you
who are here is just again,
I'm hoping that you'll know
that all majors are welcome
and valued here at the Library.
And if you were to talk to a
cross-section of any of us,
our backgrounds, we have
artists, who aren't working
in arts necessarily,
many who are.
So just a cross section
of experiences
and expertise makes the Library,
I think, the rich place it is
to work here, I just really
enjoy letting you all know
that we're looking for
folks who have a number
of different majors
and backgrounds.
Next slide please.
And here I'd like to kind
of focus and as I'm wrapping
at my remarks, I'd like
you to know that we have
at any given time anywhere from
66 to about 80 various programs
at the Library that are looking
for interns, both
paid an unpaid.
To make those easier to find, we
have put them all into a portal,
a web portal here
at loc.gov/ISP.
And this allows students
who are interested
to search among a number of
different dimensions, paid,
unpaid, researcher,
short-term, longer term,
and find out what's available.
And then from there they're
able to apply and really be able
to be part of us as interns.
So if you'll walk away from
this slide just knowing
that this exists, this portal,
and we'll make sure you
all have access to this.
We're hoping that you
may be able to share this
with your students as well.
And so with that, I'm going
to conclude my remarks.
I'm going to turn things
over to Diana to share
with us some information about
an exciting program that's going
to be opening up soon.
And we want to make sure
you all know all about it.
Diana.
>> Dianna Gibbs: Thank
you very much, Kimberly
and we'll zoom ahead to
the next slide please.
Beautiful.
Okay. So as the Program Manager
for this program you're seeing
on this slide here, the Archives
History and Heritage Advanced,
AHHA Internship Program at
the Library of Congress,
I'm really happy to provide
you all with an overview
and background information
for this specific
internship program,
which I hope will
give you context
and also pique your interest
in sharing the opportunity
with your students because it is
coming up at the end of March.
So first off, what is
the Archives History
and Heritage Advanced
Internship Program?
As we just heard from Kimberly,
the Library offers just a slate
of internships for all
manner of interests
and with all types of goals.
So how does AHHA, the acronym
for the program I'll be using,
how does AHHA fit in and
how is it distinguished?
So let's take a closer
look here.
AHHA is Of the People:
Widening the Path.
OTP is the acronym,
a 4-year initiative
that creates new opportunities
for more Americans to engage
with the Library of Congress
and to add their perspectives
to the Library's collections, so
allowing the National Library,
the Library of Congress,
to share a more inclusive
American story.
And OTP is supported by a grant
from the Andrew W.
Mellon Foundation.
And what it does,
what it strives
to do is promote outreach,
technology innovation
and archives development
for and by black, indigenous
and communities of color.
And AHHA directly supports Of
the People goals in the ways
that are distilled
here on this slide,
especially in the blocks
there of learn and share,
so you can read that text.
And I've asked that you zoom
your eyes in on the outcomes
down at the bottom of the
slide, paying close attention
to how the keyword connect
is leading the way for all 3
of those outcomes because these
outcomes provide a guiding light
for our AHHA interns.
The outcomes here are the
overarching direction and sort
of a compass for the
internship as a whole.
Now there is a considerable
amount
of variety amongst AHHA
projects within the internship.
Interns work with
different mentors
in different subject areas
throughout the Library.
And these outcomes that you're
seeing are the common points
that join the cohort's
work together collectively.
Another angle is to think
of the outcomes in terms
of how interns, their
work, their wisdom,
their perspectives,
can add value
to the library and its users.
Who are the Library's users?
The American people.
And the outcome here can
answer big picture questions
that perspective
interns might have,
that your students
might be thinking of,
such as what can I
bring to the Library?
What would my work
there accomplish?
And what would the lasting
impact of my contributions be?
So those outcomes there
would answer those questions
for your students.
Next slide please.
So let's sharpen AHHA's
focus just a bit here
to show how it stands apart
from other Library internships.
And no mystery does it play.
Look no further than
the archives part
of the program's title, so
archival work, those practices
and skills relating to
organizing, describing,
analyzing, interpreting,
creating pathways
and systems for access.
This is the core of AHHA
and each project is
intentionally designed
around specific tasks, specific
responsibilities that track with
and also bring awareness
to actions,
objectives that are
archival in nature and aim
to increase accessibility.
Now alongside archival work,
AHHA's focus is also on diverse,
marginalized and
under-represented collections
from the United States and I
took out just a tiny sample,
tiny sample of collection items
that surfaced during
the last AHHA session,
so you can see a variety
of the diversity here.
And AHHA seeks to use diverse
perspectives from interns
to identify and share
these collections
and the stories they contain,
not just the items themselves,
what lurks beneath the
surface there, very intriguing.
So you see this quote that
I've put on the bottom
of the slide here
from an AHHA intern.
It says "A special secret.
There's so much you can
do as an historian."
And I thought that
it just really speaks
to how the internship and
the subject field can branch
out into all sorts of
unanticipated directions
and from all of those different
interests and the majors
that Kimberly was
referring to earlier.
Just makes for a rich
tapestry of experiences here
at the Library of Congress.
Now, the projects that our
Fall 2021 cohort completed
such as story maps,
online and onsite exhibits,
engaging blog posts,
multi-dimensional essays,
finding aids, I've just
been really thrilled
to see how their work, not
only documents information
about the collections, but it
also serves to spark interest
and encourages others to
explore Library resources
and make new discoveries
and contributions.
I will note for you
all, particularly,
that project work is
publicly accessible,
so this gives interns concrete,
finished products that feature
in résumés and in interviews.
Go to the next slide, please.
Alright, history and expansion.
So since AHHA is a relatively
new program, we can travel back
to its origin just briefly here
to show everyone
how it has expanded
into the program we have today.
So AHHA began in
2019 as a partnership
with Howard University with
3 interns in season there
in the photograph
working in music division,
the manuscript division and
the American Folk-Life Center.
So when we talk about this range
of subjects here at the Library
of Congress, the names of
those divisions will clue you
in to that.
In 2020, AHHA continued with 4
more students, slowly growing,
from Howard University in
now 4 areas of the Library,
so it branched out to
prints and photographs
and motion picture
broadcasting and recorded sound.
Now in 2021, we see
that AHHA has grown
from its successful
pilot partnership
with Howard University
and how did that happen?
The Of the People initiative,
OTP, allowed internship
and fellowship programs
to welcome not 1
but 2 cohorts in the same year.
And I will note that
eligibility was expanded
at that point as well.
The program is now open to
candidates from all colleges
and universities in
the United States.
We're happy to welcome
you all from all
over the United States today.
Now, the remote Fall
2021 session also allowed
for a major broadening of AHHA's
footprint with interns hailing
from all over the country
literally, California, Florida,
Illinois, Massachusetts,
New York, Ohio,
South Carolina, the
list goes on.
And internships we're completed
in more areas of the Library
as well, so, again, going
back to the large swath
of interests we can support.
So projects revolved around
exhibits, resources for kids,
families and teachers, and
outreach to diverse communities
of book artists was an
interesting project.
So even though the core focus of
AHHA is built on archival skills
and practices, it's going
to reiterate again the
interpretive elements
that encourage interns
to analyze collections,
incorporate their ideas and
share their perspectives.
And the program absolutely
allows for archival work
to be expanded through
end-result interpretive formats.
So what do I mean by that?
Such as exhibits, story
maps and blog posts.
And with that in mind, I
aim to impart with you all
that AHHA does have many
potential interest touch points
that springboard off of
research and archival work
to really make a
widespread valuable impact.
And we'll go to the
next slide, please.
Okay, action, AHHA 2022 program
information is here and ready
to share with you all,
so we'll go through this.
AHHA 2022 will be a hybrid
program and that means
that we will have both
onsite and remote projects.
So anyone looking and able to
travel, we have those options.
If traveling is not an option,
we have remote possibilities
as well.
So interns can live near or
far and still participate.
Currently enrolled
undergraduate juniors, seniors
and graduate students
are eligible as are those
who have graduated between
December 2021 and June of 2022.
And this other part here,
in keeping with Of the People
initiative goals for diverse
and inclusive participation,
black, indigenous and candidates
from communities of color
are encouraged to apply.
And we are planning to welcome
approximately 15 interns
into the 2022 cohort.
And they will be paid
at the GS-3 hourly
rate based on locality.
This is a part-time, 20
hour per week internship
that spans 10 weeks
from September 12th
through November 18th, 2022.
And these other sections here,
AHHA is a learning experience
that goes beyond project work.
Interns will be able
to participate
in the Professional
Development series
of educational and
career sessions.
And those are aimed
at bolstering those
core competencies
that Kimberly walked
us through earlier.
We also organize peer
collaboration sessions knowing
that interns bring a
whole lot to the table
and giving them an opportunity
to learn from each other.
We call those Project
and Portfolio Pods.
And we also create intern
partnerships, so they have sort
of accountability partners
to walk side- by side
with during the internship
program.
And important dates
on the horizon,
the open application
period starts on March 21st,
that's a Monday and will
close on another Monday,
April 25th when we'll
have 1 final weekend
to complete the application.
And candidates submit
application through USA Jobs.
The direct link to that
posting will be featured
on AHHA's internship
and fellowship program's
portal page on March 21st.
Next slide please.
And just one final notice here,
this is your contact information
for connecting with
AHHA, ahha@loc.gov.
I keep an eye on that box all
day, so if you send anything
to that address, it will go
to me, will not disappear
and I will reply, so please
do be in touch any time,
I'm really happy to address
any sorts of questions
that might come up
after the webinar.
Also, please do subscribe
to the Of the People blog
and it's absolutely
shareable with students
and anyone else you might
think is interested as well.
It's an active platform,
[inaudible] get dusty.
We do a good amount
of posting on there
for internship spotlights,
so if an on an AHHA intern
or another OTP intern
creates a piece of writing
in blog post form, it will
be shared publicly there
for all to see.
So you can really get an idea
of the projects that have come
out already from AHHA.
Also program announcements,
that's where we will say
"Okay everyone, the open
application is starting now."
and also resources and
new ways to connect
with Library collections.
And we have those links
in the chat as well.
Alright, very good, so we will
go on to the next slide please.
And we will move into
questions and conversation
and at this point, I will ask if
Antonio can stop our recording.
Thank you all for listening
if you are listening
to the recording.