The summer internship at the Missouri Historical Society (MHS) in St. Louis offers an opportunity to gain experience in archive work at an eminent center for research and education. The MHS houses the third largest collection of Thomas Jefferson papers in the United States, as well as the largest collections of several significant national figures and events, most notably, Charles Lindbergh, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and the 1904 World’s Fair. The entire collection is immense.
The MHS houses: 175,000 artifacts in a variety of formats; a 90,000-volume library collection; 2,850 separate manuscript collections totaling more than 7,900 linear feet; more than 1 million photograph and print images; and—with about 7 million feet of film, tens of thousands of videos and tens of thousands more audio recordings—the largest regional media archive in the country. It also houses one of the nation’s most extensive textile collections.
This is a ten-week, 20-hour-a-week unpaid internship, coinciding with the University’s ten-week summer session. Students can earn four credit hours. All students representing Truman in this internship program will enroll for academic credit through the History Department.
After being selected, the intern will work in the Library and Collections Department, gaining experience in:
- archives
- collections processing and organization
- collections digitization
Assignment will be based on each intern’s abilities and interests as well as the MHS’s needs.
Applicants for this internship should possess strong written and verbal communication skills, excellent organizational skills, and basic computer skills, as well as an ability to work independently on multiple tasks. The successful applicants will be dependable, motivated, and resourceful.
To find out more about what the internship entails and how to apply, direct your enquiries to:
Dr. Jason McDonald
Baldwin Hall 226
(660) 785-7575
jasonmcd@truman.edu
Photos courtesy Missouri Historical Society.