Job Description
Job Type
Part-time, Temporary, Internship
Description
HNOC Department: Williams Research Center
Project Season: Summer 2025
Duration: Jun 23 - Jul 31, 2025 (6-Weeks)
Application Deadline: Mar 31, 2025
The Archives and Special Collections Practicum - Program Overview Implementing structured and measurable standards of engagement, the Archives and Special Collections Practicum provides experiential learning and pre-professional development to undergraduate scholars in varying disciplines of study. Under the direction and tutorship of the Williams Research Center staff, students will foster transferable skills to the application of formal procedures in the fields of public history, archival management, research, and collections care.
A practicum is a supervised, practical experience that allows students to integrate study into engagement and practice. In this model, the Historic New Orlean Collection assumes the role of a classroom extension and positions students into a live, professional setting in the capacities of both learners and active participants. Students accepted in the Archives and Special Collections practicum can expect to spend a significant amount of time in instructional sessions and interactive workshops led by staff members of the Williams Research Center. These instructional sessions are designed to introduce students to the fundamentals of public history and collections work. Beyond this instruction, students then apply learned skills to assigned projects.
For more information about the Archives and Special Collections Practicum please visit our program webpage HERE.
Oral History Transcription Project Oral history plays a vital role within the Historic New Orleans Collection, focusing on the assembly, preservation, and dissemination of oral histories that document and reflect the diverse experiences and narratives of our community. The Historic New Orleans Collection has a robust collection of oral histories from interview subjects ranging from Katrina First Responders to Vietnamese immigrants, and many more. The collecting of oral histories is ongoing, and our holdings continue to grow. While current transcription software is good and ever improving, it is still the case that oral histories often present unique challenges to machine transcription. HNOC strives to review every oral history transcription and make corrections in order to improve the accuracy and accessibility of the documents before making them available to researchers in the online catalog.
Under the direction of staff historians and collections professionals, the intern will gain an appreciation for the complexities of human experience as captured through first-hand accounts; while also learning about ethical considerations in preserving and presenting oral histories.
Intern Engagement and Learning Objectives: The intern(s) will:
- Engage in training sessions and workshops related to archival practices, preservation techniques, and information management led by staff Oral Historian, Mark Cave.
- Review existing oral history transcript documents and enter corrections directly into the document for accuracy and consistency.
Requirements
Candidate Requirements - Eligible applicants are students who are currently classified academically as undergraduate sophomores, juniors, or seniors pursuing a bachelor's degree in history, Humanities, or related Liberal Arts/ Social Science. Students expected to complete their degree in Spring or Summer of 2025 are also eligible to apply.
- Applicants must be enrolled in or have recently graduated from a four-year college/ university located in the state of Louisiana.
- Experience in scholarly research, archives management, special collections, or museums is welcomed but not required.
The Historic New Orleans Collection
Job Tags
Temporary work, Part time, Summer work, Internship,