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The Folklife Internship provides experiences in archival practice, cultural heritage research, and programming, while building participants’ knowledge about ethnographic materials. AFC staff supervise work on projects aligned with the successful applicant’s qualifications and interests. US citizens currently enrolled in undergraduate or graduate school are invited to apply for consideration, as are community scholars or other individuals with experience working in the heritage sector.
Learn more about this agency01/31/2024 to 03/01/2024
$17.22 - $22.39 per hour
GS 03
No
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Not required
No
Temporary - Temporary - 10-week Summer Internship - Starting Dates: May 20, June 3, or July 1, 2024, internship extends for ten weeks from chosen starting date.
Full-time - Flexitime.
Excepted
03
No
No
2024 AFC Folklife Interns
773041300
This program offers participants insights into the environment and activities of the American Folklife Center, which pairs robust cultural programming with the world's largest ethnographic archive. Interns will be exposed to a broad spectrum of public programs and archives work: artist liaison, production, preservation, reference, access standards, and information management. Depending on the specific project they are assigned, interns will assist staff with coordinating and producing public programs; archival processing of special collections in many different formats; managing digital outreach activities and communications; or supporting reference and research activities. Near the end of their appointment at the Library, the interns will reflect on their projects and experiences by producing a blog post, as well as a presentation for AFC staff.
PROJECTS:
The project names for 2024 are listed below. For further information on any project, please contact the American Folklife Center: folklife@loc.gov or 202-707-5510.
#01 – Digital resources support: Provide creative and technical assistance for curated digital resources published regularly by the Center. Such products include two podcast series, Folklife Today and America Works, blog posts, Research Guides, and digital collections. Responsibilities may include collection research, interpretive writing, digital asset selection, editing, and/or file preparation. Examples available here: https://loc.gov/podcasts/ or https://guides.loc.gov/american-folklife.
#02 – 50th Anniversary Planning Support: Assist staff in planning for public programs and initiatives that lead up to the celebration of the Center’s 50th anniversary in 2026, such as a multi-year initiative focused on children’s games and songs. Responsibilities may include reference work and/or collections exploration; public program design; or curatorial support for exhibitions or collection displays.
#03 – Collections Processing: Work with AFC staff to support archival processing of multiformat collections, primarily including analog manuscript, photographic, and audio/visual materials. Responsibilities will include rehousing, labeling, metadata creation, and other tasks related to arrangement and description of a variety of archival materials.
#04 – Foodways Publication Research: Support AFC staff in collections research and curatorial work for a proposed publication on food and community culture as represented in the Library’s holdings. Responsibilities will entail coordinating exploration of collection materials related to food heritage in the United States; identifying assets and collection materials for inclusion in the publication; developing interpretive and descriptive text; and general editorial assistance.
Library of Congress employees are prohibited from using illegal drugs, including marijuana. The Library is part of the Federal Government and abides by federal law, so regardless of individual state or District of Columbia laws, marijuana use is illegal, considered criminal activity, and can affect your employment at the Library. In addition, past drug use and activities (e.g., selling or distributing) may deem you ineligible for employment.
Applicants must have had progressively responsible experience and training sufficient in scope and quality to furnish them with an acceptable level of the following knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the position without more than normal supervision.
Familiarity with concepts relevant to preserving and presenting folklife and cultural heritage. Internship is open to non-students and students alike, so there are multiple ways to demonstrate qualification:
- through completion of substantive coursework in fields such as folklore, ethnomusicology, American studies, anthropology, heritage studies, or library and archives management of cultural materials; or
- equivalent experience working in the field with communities on cultural heritage documentation, presentation, and/or preservation
2. MUST BE AVAILABLE FOR FULL TEN WEEK PERIOD. (NO EXCEPTIONS) (Note: The start and ending dates have changed to coincide with the beginning of the pay period cycle.) You may choose to start dates are May 20, June 3, or July 1, 2024, internship extends for ten weeks from chosen starting date.
3. Appointment/retention is subject to a favorable evaluation of a personnel security/suitability investigation.
4. Resume (either uploaded or created using the Resume Builder).
5. If applicable: latest transcript from the current or most recently attended college or university; unofficial copy acceptable.
6. Cover letter stating professional objectives, interests in internship and related fields, and relevant professional skills; include language abilities if relevant. The cover letter should clearly identify your top 2 project choices and why you have chosen them.
7. Contact information for two (2) references who can speak to your knowledge, skills, and abilities when it comes to professional aptitude in project-driven work environments.
The Library of Congress is an equal opportunity employer. Women, minorities, and persons with disabilities who meet eligibility requirements are strongly encouraged to apply. Applicants must submit a complete application package that is received by the closing date of this announcement. This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify ADA@loc.gov. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation will be on a case-by-case basis. Applicants with disabilities may be considered under special hiring procedures and must submit an appropriate certificate of eligibility when applying for this position. The date of certification must be within one year of the vacancy closing date. For more information contact the selective placement program coordinator at 202-707-6362 or email spp@loc.gov. The Library of Congress is the national library of the United States and is part of the Legislative Branch of the Federal government. As such, all positions are in the excepted service. Appointment/retention is subject to a favorable evaluation of an appropriate personnel security/suitability investigation. The Library reserves the right to fill a lesser or greater number of vacancies indicated during the life of this vacancy announcement.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Completed application packages will be forwarded to selecting officials in American Folklife Center (AFC) who will interview with promising applicants, based on the application package and desired skills.
To preview questions please click here.
If any documents are missing, your application will be disqualified.
1. REQUIRED - Resume.
2. REQUIRED – Contact information for two (2) references who can speak to your knowledge, skills, and abilities when it comes to professional aptitude in project-driven work environments.
3. OPTIONAL- Latest transcript from the current or most recently attended university or college. We will accept an unofficial copy.
4. REQUIRED - Cover letter stating professional objectives, interests in internship and related fields and relevant professional skills; include language abilities if relevant. The cover letter should clearly identify your top 2 project choices and why you have chosen them.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
Please carefully follow all instructions under the How to Apply tab to ensure you are considered for the position. You are required to apply online for this announcement. Mailed or e-mailed documents WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. You must complete the entire application process, including submission of all documents BEFORE this announcement closes. To do so, complete the following steps.
Step 1: If you do not already have one, create a resume on USAJOBS. Although you must enter your Social Security Number for USAJOBS, this information will not be provided to the Library of Congress.
Step 2: Review the Job Announcement. We recommend you go to the end of the Qualification and Evaluation section of the job announcement to preview the online questions that you will answer in Step 4. You may wish to customize your USAJOBS resume to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions.
Step 3: Click on the "APPLY ONLINE" button to the right of this announcement. Follow USAJOBS' instructions to access your account and submit your resume. You will be redirected to the Hiring Management website to complete the application process. If this is your first time in Hiring Management, you will be asked to answer questions related to your eligibility for Federal employment. You will be able to update this information and save it to our account for future announcements.
Step 4: Once you have completed the eligibility questions, you will be taken directly to the vacancy application questions. Answer all questions honestly and thoroughly.
Step 5: Hiring Management offers three options that will electronically attach your documentation to your online application once you finish answering the questions in the job announcement. (1) You may select a document that you have already uploaded to USAJOBS for a previous announcement. (2) You may electronically upload a document directly from your computer to your application. Be certain to review your complete application for confirmation the document uploaded and click on "Finished" to be returned to USAJOBS. (3) You may follow the "Faxing Supporting Documentation" instructions within the online application, which will provide the necessary cover sheets for each of your documents so that they will be correctly submitted. The fax number will be available on the cover sheet. Please note that each cover sheet and corresponding document must be faxed separately. Be certain to review your complete fax transmittal confirmation to ensure that all pages have been received.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have multiple documents of the same kind, e.g. 2 undergraduate transcripts from different schools or 2 SF-50s, etc., be sure that they are all in the same file on your computer or in your USAJOBS profile before uploading them. If you try uploading them individually, only the last one sent will be visible in our system. Likewise, if sending them by fax, be sure and include both of them behind the respective fax cover sheet and send them as one fax. If you send them individually with the same cover sheet, the last one sent will overwrite the first one. Finally, if you upload a document, e.g. your undergraduate transcript, do not also fax that same document (or fax another undergraduate transcript), because whichever one you send last will be the only one that is visible in our system. If you have any questions about this information, please contact the person on this announcement BEFORE the closing date.
Step 6: Click on "Submit" after you have completed your application. Once you have submitted your application, you can check your status online through your Hiring Management or MY USAJOBS account. Your complete online application and any required supplemental documentation (e.g., SF-50, etc.) must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on the closing date of the announcement. It is your responsibility to ensure that all documents are received on time and that the materials are readable. Failure to do so will result in your application being excluded from consideration for this announcement. If you are experiencing any technical difficulty with the online process, you MUST CONTACT THE POINT OF CONTACT FOR THIS ANNOUNCEMENT BEFORE THE CLOSING DATE. For all technical issues please contact StudentPrograms@loc.gov, no later than 4:30pm EST of the Closing Date. REQUESTS FOR EXTENSIONS WILL NOT BE GRANTED.
Please review our evaluation process under Evaluation. You may check the status of your application for this position at any time by logging onto the USAJOBS "My USAJOBS" tab and clicking on "My Applications." You will receive final notification via e-mail when the vacancy has been filled.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/773041300. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
Learn more about
The Library of Congress serves the Congress in fulfilling its duties and preserves and promotes knowledge and creativity for the benefit of the American people. It is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution and the world's largest library, with more than 158 million items in its physical collections (including books, manuscripts, prints, photos, film, video, and sound recordings) and over 37 million items online. Located primarily on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., the Library is the home of the U.S. Copyright Office, the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the Law Library of Congress, and the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.
