Duties

Summary

The focus of the Archives, History and Heritage Advanced Internship Program is to build awareness of how unique historical records are analyzed, organized, and described in order to make them available for research and educational use. Interns will have the opportunity to explore historical documents representing rich cultural, creative, and intellectual resources, while working under the direction of library specialists in various divisions.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

This program offers undergraduate juniors and seniors, graduate and doctoral students insights into the Library of Congress collections-the world's largest and most comprehensive repository of human knowledge. Interns will work under the supervision and guidance of a senior specialist and learn the standards and techniques to properly arrange and provide online descriptions for archival collection materials. Responsibilities will include analyzing, organizing, and interpreting collections or programs that help share an inclusive story of the American experience. Projects will heighten visibility and promote accessibility for Library resources that more fully represent the rich cultural and creative heritage of the United States.

Interns will develop knowledge of the types of materials within the Library's collections, including how they are collected, acquired, cataloged, preserved, interpreted, and shared, and the procedures governing their use; develop and maintain personal contacts and cooperative work relationships with librarians and others throughout the Library, with colleagues in other intern programs, and with subject matter experts to provide or exchange information; present information to groups and persons with similar understanding of the subject; and attend workshops, conferences, seminars, or meetings in relevant fields for professional development.

Interns will work from remote locations. The Fall 2021 session of this program is a virtual internship.
Fall 2021 Projects:

The project names for Fall 2021 are listed below. For full project descriptions and required skills/knowledge for each project, applicants must review the information at: https://www.loc.gov/item/internships/archives-history-and-heritage-advanced-internship-program-remote-internship-2021/ prior to applying.

1. Agile Display and Exhibition Development - Exhibits Office
2. Uncovering Untold Stories for the Classroom - Professional Learning and Outreach Initiatives
3. Resources for Intergenerational Learning - Informal Learning Office
4. Race and Ethnicity in the Writings of Walt Whitman - Manuscript Division
5. Oliver Smith Papers Digital Design Records Metadata - Music Division
6. Peter Angelo Simon Performing Arts Images - Music Division
7. Story Map for African-American Band Music, 1883-1923 - Music Division
8. Speaking Truth(s) to Presidents: Twenty Years of Citizen Discourse, 1909-1929 - Manuscript Division
9. Visual Literacy: Critical Analysis and Enhanced Subject Indexing for Photographs of African Americans - Prints and Photographs
10. George Washington's Farm Reports, 1786-1799 - Manuscript Division
11. Race, Labor and Politics: The American Federation of Labor and Big Data - Manuscript Division
12. Enhancing the Representation of African-American Book Artists in the Library's Book Arts Collections - Rare Book and Special Collections Division
13. The American Archive of Public Broadcasting Online Curation Project - National Audio Visual Conservation Center
14. Transforming Metadata to Preserve Television Content - National Audio Visual Conservation Center

These internships are "not to exceed" temporary staff positions at the GS-03/1 level.

The salary is based on locality pay for where remote work is performed: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/2021/general-schedule/ The incumbent of this position will work a flextime work schedule.

Relocation expenses will not be authorized for the person(s) selected under this vacancy announcement.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
03

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

No additional requirements to those listed above.

Qualifications

1. Currently enrolled undergraduate juniors and seniors, masters and Ph.D. candidates from all majors or those who have graduated between December 1, 2020 - June 30, 2021.

2. MUST BE AVAILABLE FOR THE FULL TEN-WEEK PERIOD from September 13, 2021 through November 19, 2021. The program selectees will be expected to report to work, remotely, from 9am to 11am Eastern Time for a mandatory orientation on September 13, 2021. NO EXCEPTIONS.

3. Appointment/retention is subject to a favorable evaluation of a personnel security/suitability investigation.

4. Candidate statement of interest (no more than 2 pages; see Vacancy Questions for details).

5. Resume (federal style preferred). Include dates, hours, level of experience and examples for each work experience; volunteer work and roles in community organizations; numbers, percentages and/or dollars that highlight your accomplishments. Learn more here: USAJOBS Help Center | what should I include in my federal resume?

6. Responses to all Vacancy Questions.

7. A legible copy of your latest college/university transcripts is required with your online application. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable at the time of application. Your transcript will be used to certify your eligibility for the program. Official transcripts will be required if selected for the position. Transcripts must be issued by the college or university, and must include your name, the name of the institution, and the courses and course dates. Screenshots, Word or other text documents, and stand-alone course lists are not acceptable. Failure to submit the required legible documentation at the time of application will result in disqualification. If you do not have an unofficial transcript at your disposal, please submit another document from your institution and/or registrar's office to certify your current enrollment.

8. Names and contact information of two references. Accepted references are: 1) a professor with knowledge of your qualifications, and 2) a supervisor in your current or former job OR a faculty member familiar with your work. References may be contacted by telephone or email and asked about the candidate's qualifications. Submit reference information in the Vacancy Questions.

Letters of Recommendation are NOT REQUIRED for this application.

For all required documents, you should follow the steps for submitting documents found below in step 5 of the "How to Apply" section.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Once selected and hired for the internship, every effort will be made to accommodate project selections. Due to the popularity of some areas of interest, preferred project placement cannot be guaranteed. All project areas may not be available at the time applicants are selected and others may be added. Applicants should be sure to indicate two project areas of interest within their applications.

Education

The program is open to currently enrolled undergraduate juniors and seniors, masters and Ph.D. candidates from all majors or those who have graduated between December 1, 2020 - June 30, 2021.

A legible copy of your latest college/university transcripts is required with your online application. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable at the time of application. Your transcript will be used to certify your eligibility for the program. Official transcripts will be required if selected for the position. Transcripts must be issued by the college or university, and must include your name, the name of the institution, and the courses and course dates. Screenshots, Word or other text documents, and stand-alone course lists are not acceptable. Failure to submit the required legible documentation at the time of application will result in disqualification. If you do not have an unofficial transcript at your disposal, please submit another document from your institution and/or registrar's office to certify your current enrollment.

Foreign Education - Education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed equivalent to conventional/accredited U.S. education programs to be acceptable for Federal employment. If your college/university is outside the U.S., your transcripts must be accompanied by a report from a credential evaluation service that is a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) or the Association of International Credentials Evaluators (AICE). Failure to submit a foreign education evaluation report will result in disqualification of your application.

Additional information

The Library of Congress is an equal opportunity employer. Women, minorities, and persons with disabilities who meet eligibility requirements are strongly encouraged to apply.

Applicants must submit a complete application package that is received by the closing date of this announcement.

This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please email ADA@loc.gov. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Applicants with disabilities may be considered under special hiring procedures and must submit an appropriate certificate of eligibility when applying for this position. The proof or disability/certification may be issued by the State Vocational Rehabilitation Office, Disability Services or Career Services office of the applicant's college or university, or the Department of Veterans Affairs. The letter must verify that the applicant has a severe disability and must be dated within three years of the date of the application. Certification from health care providers are not accepted. For more information contact the Library's Office of EEO/Diversity Programs at 202-707-6024 or email spp@loc.gov. FAILURE TO SUBMIT YOUR CERTIFICATION WILL CAUSE YOUR APPLICATION TO NOT BE CONSIDERED UNDER THE SELECTIVE PLACEMENT PROGRAM.

The Library of Congress is the national library of the United States and is part of the Legislative Branch of the Federal government. As such, all positions are in the excepted service.
Appointment/retention is subject to a favorable evaluation of an appropriate personnel security/suitability investigation.

The Library reserves the right to fill a lesser or greater number of vacancies indicated during the life of this vacancy announcement.

A "Not to Exceed" (NTE) status is used to identify an appointment with a specific ending date. However, the Library has the right to separate a NTE employee at any time due to either performance issues or budget constraints.

Are you a veteran? Please indicate the type of veterans' preference you are claiming in your application materials and/or applicant profile and provide the appropriate supporting documentation to validate your claim. Those applying for 5-point preference must submit Member Copy 4 of your DD 214. Those applying for 10-point preference must fill out an SF-15 (click here for the form) and provide the required documentation listed on the back of the form. If required supporting documentation is not attached, Veterans' Preference will not be considered in the application process.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Completed application packages will be forwarded to selecting officials in the Library who will arrange telephone interviews with promising applicants, based on the application package and desired skills.

The Library of Congress evaluates applicants through an applicant questionnaire and an interview. Applicants may also be screened for some jobs through licensing, certification, and/or education requirements, a narrative/application review, and/or a preliminary telephone interview. The various assessment tools listed above are designed to verify or explore applicants' experience, knowledge, and training directly related to the job in order to identify the best qualified applicants for selection.
For more information regarding eligibility requirements, please see the Library of Congress Merit Selection Plan, Section X.D, at: http://www.loc.gov/hr/employment/msp010909.pdf.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Not Required

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

If any documents are missing, your application will be disqualified.

1. REQUIRED - Resume (either uploaded or created using the Resume Builder).

2. REQUIRED - Candidate statement of interest (see Vacancy Questions for details)

3. REQUIRED - A legible copy of your latest college/university transcripts is required with your online application. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable at the time of application. Your transcript will be used to certify your eligibility for the program. Official transcripts will be required if selected for the position. Transcripts must be issued by the college or university, and must include your name, the name of the institution, and the courses and course dates. Screenshots, Word or other text documents, and stand-alone course lists are not acceptable. Failure to submit the required legible documentation at the time of application will result in disqualification. If you do not have an unofficial transcript at your disposal, please submit another document from your institution and/or registrar's office to certify your current enrollment.

Applicants with disabilities may be considered under special hiring procedures and must submit an appropriate certificate of eligibility when applying for this position. The proof or disability/certification may be issued by the State Vocational Rehabilitation Office, Disability Services or Career Services office of the applicant's college or university, or the Department of Veterans Affairs. The letter must verify that the applicant has a severe disability and must be dated within three years of the date of the application. The program does not accept certification from health care providers. For more information contact the Library's Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity Programs at 202-707-6024 or email spp@loc.gov. FAILURE TO SUBMIT YOUR CERTIFICATION WILL CAUSE YOUR APPLICATION TO NOT BE CONSIDERED UNDER THE SELECTIVE PLACEMENT PROGRAM.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.