Summer Internship in Archives and Special Collections

The Great Lakes Naval Museum is currently accepting applications for an Archives-Special Collections intern and a Museum Education intern during the summer of 2016. The museum’s archives and special collections consist of donated personal papers, photographs, and rare printed books and ephemera from enlisted men and women in the U.S. Navy worldwide.

Under the Archivist’s supervision, the intern will learn and perform career-developmental duties such as:

• Expand and correct rough preliminary inventories of unarranged, unaccessioned archival materials 
• Research and identify the original creators, recipients, and donors of historical materials, using internal museum records. 
• Research and summarize historical backgrounds and contexts for persons, events, and places depicted or represented by archival materials 
• Recognize, identify, and correlate patterns in archival collection inventories 
• Arrange existing personal papers collections and potential “assembled” collections of ephemera and photographs. 
• Write documentation of findings and processes. 
• Assist with the full range of the museum archival program’s donor relations, acquisitions, collection development, archival collections description, researcher assistance, and outreach work, as time and interest permit. 

Skills Required:

• Curiosity and a willingness to learn. 
• A working knowledge of U.S. and world history and geography from 1775 to the present. 
• The physical ability to climb stairs and ladders, lift up to 50 pounds, stand, sit, kneel, and occasionally handle materials covered with dust or debris. 
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office 
• Commitment to a signed agreement for voluntary service of at least 120 hours, primarily on mutually agreeable weekdays between 8:30 AM and 5:00 PM. Some Saturday hours may be available. 

As an official Department of the Navy Museum, the Great Lakes Naval Museum's mission is to select, collect, preserve, and interpret the history of the United States Navy with particular emphasis on the Navy's enlisted Sailor. The Great Lakes Naval Museum is located at the U.S. Navy’s historic Naval Station Great Lakes about an hour’s drive from downtown Chicago and Milwaukee, about 10 minutes north of Lake Forest, Illinois. The museum is a ten-minute drive east of I-94 Exit 14 and is accessible from the Metra – Union Pacific North railroad line’s Great Lakes station with a 15-minute walk.

The application deadline is March 1, 2016. To apply, please send an application form, available at http://www.history.navy.mil/glnm and the following:

• Academic transcripts (unofficial or official). 
• Your resume outlining your educational, professional, and volunteer experiences. 
• A one-page personal statement describing how an internship with the Great Lakes Naval Museum will support your academic and career goals. 
• One letter of recommendation that relates to the internship. 
• A writing sample of at least 1,000 words. 

As an official Department of the Navy museum, the Great Lakes Naval Museum's mission is to select, collect, preserve, and interpret the history of the United States Navy with particular emphasis on the Navy's enlisted Sailor. The Great Lakes Naval Museum is located at the U.S. Navy's historic Naval Station Great Lakes. Additional information about the museum can be found at its Facebook page: www.facebook.com/greatlakesnavalmuseum

To inquire about the internship, please contact:

Martin Tuohy, Archivist
Great Lakes Naval Museum
610 Farragut Avenue, Building 42
Great Lakes, IL 60088-2618
glnm@navy.mil
(847) 688-3154 x 217