Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Montgomery County Historical Society Archive Internship

Rockville, Maryland

INTERNSHIP DESCRIPTION: The archive intern will conduct an inventory of material in the Montgomery County Historical Society (MCHS) library and archives related to the development of suburban Montgomery County. Primary goal of the internship is establishment of a finding aid to facilitate use of the MCHS archives by researchers interested in suburban studies. The internship is full-time (40 hours/week) for 8 weeks, with a $1000 stipend. Alternative schedules, such as fewer hours/week over a longer period of time, may be considered.

The MCHS archives and library contain material relevant to County history and culture, from the 18th century through the present day. Collection strengths include land plats, surveys and maps; photographic images; scrapbooks and diaries; and organizational records. Many are discrete collections relating to, or collected by, a single individual, group or community. Although inventories exist for some of the archive collection, most are not in computerized and searchable formats. With the recent founding of the MCHS Mary Kay Harper Center for Suburban Studies (MKH-CSS) it is increasingly important to establish intellectual control over the collection to improve accessibility to visiting researchers. The purpose of the internship is to identify material within the collection relevant to suburban studies and document this information in a descriptive finding aid for inclusion on the MKH-CSS website.

ABOUT MCHS: The Montgomery County Historical Society is dedicated to encouraging the County's residents and the public at large to discover their common heritage. To achieve this, the Society uses its historic resources (historic buildings, artifact, library, and archive collections, educational programs) and fosters partnerships with others to create a shared sense of place in a changing environment.

MCHS operates two campuses, the Beall-Dawson Historic Park in Rockville and the Waters House History Center in Germantown. The Beall-Dawson Historic Park is the organization’s main campus and site of the MCHS administrative offices, Beall-Dawson House Museum, the Stonestreet Museum of 19th Century Medicine, and the Jane C. Sween Research Library. The Waters House History Center contains part of the MCHS library special collections, as well as changing exhibit galleries. The internship is located at the Sween Research Library, but travel to Germantown will occasionally be necessary. Please visit www.montgomeryhistory.org to learn more about MCHS.

TO APPLY: Send or email a cover letter and detailed resume to the address below. Please include the names and contact information for three references familiar with your work. Candidates for this position should have a strong interest and background in 20th century American history and/or some experience working in a research library setting. Upper level undergraduate and graduate students or recent graduates in archive or library science are preferred, but applicants with archive or library experience from museum studies, anthropology, and history programs are also encouraged to apply. Deadline: April 30, 2010.

Beth Hickey, Assistant Director

Montgomery County Historical Society

111 W. Montgomery Ave.

Rockville, MD 20850

bhickey@montgomeryhistory.org

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