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The Library & Information Science Professional's Career Development Center |
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The
Internship Voyage: |
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Have you decided to embark upon an internship as part of your LIS education? If so, will your internship be mundane and ordinary or will it be creative and beneficial? Do you want to spend your time doing busywork or do you want to come away with nuggets of gold? What you take away from your internship will depend upon what you put into it. If you want the gold, treat this experience as if it were a real professional position. Act, dress, speak, and contribute as though you are a member of the staff, not a visitor or volunteer. Maybe you are one of the many people who enter this profession as a third or fourth career, having never worked in a library. You may be wondering if the library is really a good fit for you. If so, then the internship is a very critical aspect of your LIS education. It may be your proving ground to find out whether or not you are truly cut from librarian (or information professional, if you prefer) cloth. Herein lies the story of how I steered my internship over calm waters and crashing waves. With a little preparation and thoughtfulness, you too, can be at the helm of your internship. Proactive Interview Approach your initial meeting with the internship site coordinator as though it were an actual job interview. There is no such thing as too much practice. Dress in a manner befitting an interview for a position as a professional librarian. Go in prepared to discuss what you have to offer in terms of your previous experiences, education, and careers. Your hosts want you to benefit richly from this experience, but they cannot read your mind. Tell the supervisor about your strengths and weaknesses, and about what you hope to gain from your time there. I was very honest about my area of weakness, which benefited me later because my mentors arranged some assignments that helped me strengthen that skill. Don’t let a communication gap get in your way. Together you can tailor an internship experience best suited to your needs. Taking the Initiative Do you want to make a lasting impression? Then go the extra mile or two. When given projects, assess how you might go beyond just meeting the requirements. Take a chance, be creative, and think outside of the box. During my internship, two of my mentors wanted to look at new and innovative ideas used by other academic libraries in their instruction programs to see what they might incorporate into their program. My task was to study several U.S. academic library instruction programs. I was to look at their websites and compose a checklist of ten to fifteen aspects of these instruction programs. As requested, I chose seven instruction programs to look at and constructed a twenty-one point checklist. Then without the knowledge of my mentors I carried the research much further. I expanded the study to include the extent to which each library implemented the ACRL standards and guidelines for library instruction, as well as an in-depth look at some of the really innovative and successful components of some of the programs. I also conducted telephone and email interviews with several library instruction coordinators and completed a literature review on the topic. Not only was I finishing the assignment, but I was adding to my knowledge of the topic at the same time. When I confessed my extra work to one of the librarians, she suggested that I present my findings to the library staff. What began as a one-page checklist evolved into a 30-minute, 38-slide PowerPoint presentation. Since most academic library interviews include some type of presentation, this was a golden opportunity for practice. Best of all, not only did the librarians attend, the dean was there as well. Just as if this were a real interview presentation, the librarians and dean interrupted several times with questions and suggestions. One suggestion was that I carry on this research further with the goal of writing an article. All of these results came from simply taking the initiative to be creative and go a few extra miles above and beyond expectations. How could you turn a mole hill into a mountain? The Question Machine Ask a librarian. Ask a circulation manager. Ask an interlibrary loan librarian. Ask a head of technical services. Ask anyone who will listen to you. You have questions; they have answers. If they do not have the answer, chances are they either know who does or how you can find it. Isn’t that their business? What is the question? Your questions may range from “What happens when …?” to “How do you …?” to “Who do you call for …?” While you are in this environment, take advantage of the tremendous opportunity to ask the experts. After all, this is the information delivery business. You may be surprised to find where a question may lead you. Here is an example of a quite unexpected place that one of my thousands of questions led me. I asked a library staff member, “Do you know anything about _____ library?” The library in question was nearby but of a different type. The answer to this question led to more questions and more answers. Within two weeks all of the information had landed me in that library director’s office, asking more questions. After an hour of discussion came the most important question of all. It came not from me, but from the director. She asked, “When do you graduate? I have some librarians planning to retire soon.” Funny … then I was speechless. A job possibility was the result of one little question. What “little” question will you ask and where might it lead you? Building Blocks As you leave your internship, what relationships will you have built? Will you have established another link in your network? Again, the approach you take will make the difference. Keep in mind that you will soon join the ranks of the people from whom you are now learning. You will be their colleague. How will they remember you? There are many ways to grow your network during your internship. During the library instruction research project, I conducted telephone and email interviews with several librarians around the country. First, I cited them in my research and most of them requested copies of my work. Second, I sent follow-up thank you notes for their contributions. Third, I continued corresponding with one of them for several weeks, suggesting that she would be an excellent speaker for a conference in the planning stages. I also tried to build my network while answering a survey conducted by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Completing the survey required me to contact several different offices on our university campus. In each instance, I was careful to conduct myself as though I were an employee of the university. Additionally, whenever I spoke with IMLS staff, I believe they assumed I was a librarian. The lasting relationships built in the host site itself may be the most important part of your network. One of my mentors suggested that she and I collaborate on an article discussing both the mentor and intern viewpoints. What impression have you made? Have you made any impact at all or are you just a passing intern in the night? Will the librarians be willing to write recommendation letters for you? Would they like to work with you on an ongoing basis? The answers are up to you. The Finishing Touch If possible, take away tangible evidence of your work at the library in which you intern. Depending upon the type of library, the possibilities will vary. Keep copies of reports, letters, documents—anything you personally produce that might enhance your resume. Do not wait until near the end of your internship to begin thinking about this. From the very beginning, seek out ways to create original work if the opportunities do not come your way. I was able to leave my internship with the library instruction PowerPoint presentation and all of its accompanying research, a mock book-purchase order, and an archival collection documented in both print and online finding guides. Just as important are the intangibles you will take away from this experience. If you plan ahead, stay the course, conduct yourself as a professional librarian, and remain flexible enough to steer around obstacles, you will leave with not just a few gold nuggets, but an entire treasure chest full. Muriel K. Wells is a former first-grade teacher. She is currently a student in the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Alabama. Her areas of interest are both university and military academic libraries. She currently researches various aspects of military librarianship including history and information delivery. Article published Oct 2007 Disclaimer: The ideas expressed in LIScareer articles are those of their respective authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the LIScareer editors.
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Page last updated
09/25/2007
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