Volunteer & Internship Opportunities

Do you have an interest in helping preserve Montgomery County history and learning more about archival preservation? Consider volunteering at the Montgomery County Archives!

Since the Montgomery County Archives was formed in 1995, volunteers have played an integral role in the work of preserving the records of Montgomery County. If you have an interest in archival preservation and would like to volunteer at the Montgomery County Archives we have the following opportunities available

	County Records Processing Volunteer Assist with processing county records collections, including cleaning documents, removing metal fasteners, and placing the documents in new acid free folders. With additional training volunteers may assist with descriptive tasks, such as writing finding aids.
	Special Collections Processing Volunteer Assist with processing special records collections (family papers, historic photographs, civic organization records, etc.), including inventorying collections, cleaning documents, removing metal fasteners, and placing the documents in new acid free folders. With additional training volunteers may assist with descriptive tasks, such as writing finding aids.
	Digitization Volunteer Assist with digitization projects, including scanning materials on a flatbed scanner and creating descriptive metadata. Experience with scanning equipment and software is preferred, but not required.
	Indexing Volunteer Index processed county records collections by entering data into established index databases. Volunteers should be comfortable with word processing programs and have excellent attention to detail.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, complete the volunteer application or contact the Archives at 931-553-5159 for more information. Once your application has been reviewed, a staff member will contact you shortly to discuss opportunities and schedule an interview.

The Montgomery County Archives internship program is open to those currently enrolled in college degree-seeking programs and recent graduates who are interested in learning more about the archival field. The program provides the opportunity to learn about archival arrangement, description, and preservation. Interns will gain hands-on experience processing historic Montgomery County records as well as special collections of historical materials for research use. Interns will work with Archives staff while following a program work plan that allows the intern to learn while gaining practical knowledge.

Program Requirements

• Interns must be a minimum of eighteen years of age and enrolled in or recently graduated from a college or university degree program.
• Although there are not specific degree requirements, priority will be given to students from history, public history, and/or library sciences degree programs.
• All internships are paid. Total hours available are limited to the available funding for the internship program and are subject to change. Interns will be given at least 2 weeks’ notice if there are funding changes that affect total available hours.
• Interns are required to pass a background check through Human Resources and to complete the new-hire orientation provided by HR prior to beginning at the Archives.

Internship Duties and Program Outline

Intern program supervisors work with interns to design and implement learning plans and objectives based on the interests of the intern and the position duties. Internship duties may include:

• Arranging and describing archival collections.
• Authoring biographical and historical notes that provide context for archival materials.
• Creating finding aids in compliance with Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS) and local practices using ArchivesSpace.
• Conducting oral history interviews.
• Transcribing audio and video assets.
• Using scanners and cameras to digitize archival materials and rare books.
• Creating descriptive metadata and developing digital collections using CONTENTdm.
• Applying controlled vocabularies, including LCSH, LCNAF, TGM, and RightsStatements.org, to describe digital objects.
• Curating web and physical exhibitions.
• Assisting researchers by working the reference desk.

New internship terms start at the beginning of the fall, spring, and summer semesters. Once applications for the next term open those interested can apply through the Current Openings page. If you would like to be notified when the applications for the next term are open, fill out this notification form.