Fall 2014 Internships at the Winnetka Historical Society

The Winnetka Historical Society (WHS) is currently accepting applications for Fall 2014 for paid and unpaid internships. The WHS was founded in 1932 by a group of engaged citizens who recognized the importance of preserving the history of the Winnetka community.  WHS owns and operates two historic buildings in Winnetka.  Its Museum and headquarters at 411 Linden Street houses exhibit and gallery space and is open for research, including the reference library, photograph collections, museum collections, archives, and house files. The Schmidt-Burnham Log House seasonally offers visitors a glimpse of life in the 1850s through the interpretation of costumed docents.

The following positions are available:

John Ott Collection Project Intern (paid, grant-funded)
150 hours at $12/hour - Applications will be accepted through August 10th.

WHS has received a grant to document and begin preservation of the John Ott Time-Lapse Photography Collection and is seeking an intern to assist in processing the donation. Applicants should be familiar with museum collections handling procedures and pursuing a degree in museum studies, public history, history, or archives. This internship is funded by an historical records preservation grant from the Illinois State Historic Records Advisory Board.

The entire project will continue through June 2015, but the internship will consist of 150 hours. Estimated timeline / duties for the project in Fall 2014:

• August 1 – September 30, 2014: Remove films from boxes, match up with box lists, conduct preliminary inventory and condition notation
• October 1 – December 30, 2014: Carefully remove film from cans / film cores, clean, re-house, assign and affix museum object numbers, photograph objects, play films in stable condition, create catalog entries in the PastPerfect database

Online Exhibits Development Intern (unpaid)Intern will assist with creating dynamic online exhibits based on Winnetka History and reports to the museum curator.

Goals: to develop an online exhibit using Google Gallery about Winnetka’s local history, based on an original idea of the intern’s interest, or based on a past or current WHS exhibit. Skills developed will include exhibit planning and development methods, objects handling and photography techniques, and be trained in creating a dynamic, interactive exhibit experience under the guidance of the museum curator. Software training will be provided.

Interns may elect to blog about their internship via our website or their own, will attend a North Shore Museum Consortium meeting, and will have the option of following a reading syllabus introducing the intern to the key facets of public history, nonprofit, and small museums, tailored to the intern’s interests.

Historic Building Survey Intern (unpaid)
WHS is conducting a community-wide survey of the existing building stock in the Village. Interns will photograph structures, conduct historical research in the Village of Winnetka & WHS Building files, and record their findings into a master Village survey document. No previous survey experience is required; training is provided.

Photos and Prints Intern (unpaid)
Intern will scan and catalog images in the WHS Historic Photographs collection. Photographs range from tin types and glass plate positives to modern portraits and family collections. The intern will learn archival and museum cataloging methods, create catalog records according to industry standards using PastPerfect, and digitize photographs and film negatives under the guidance of the museum curator. No experience required; training is fully provided.

APPLICATION INFORMATION: Work schedules are flexible, with hours typically taking place between Monday-Thursday between 8am-4pm and ranging from 10 to 20 hours per week. Schedules will be determined with supervisor. Interns work directly under the supervision of the curator and/or the museum director. We encourage students to apply for academic credit for their work and will support credit requests.

TO APPLY: Please send your resume to Siera Erazo at curator(at)winnetkahistory.org with the subject line: Fall 2014 (insert position)Internship. Please introduce yourself and indicate if you plan to apply for course credit for the internship in the body of your email. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis in order of their receipt.

Additionally, we have several active, on-going volunteer opportunities; please see our Volunteer Projects page here.