KEY REQUIREMENTS

This program offers undergraduate and graduate students insights into the environment and culture of the world's largest and most comprehensive repository of human knowledge.  Interns will be exposed to a broad spectrum of library work: copyright, preservation, reference, access standards, and information management. Interns inventory, catalog, arrange, preserve, and research a backlog of copyright or special collections in many different formats in various divisions, and assist with digital preservation outreach activities throughout the Library.  Near the end of their appointment at the Library, the interns join together to present a one-day exhibit of historically significant and compelling gems they found in the course of their work.  The exhibit is open to members of Congress, Library staff, and the press and is always an eagerly anticipated event.

1.  Successful completion of at least one year of college education.  
2.  Must be available for full ten week period at $300 per week, from May 29 through August 3, 2012.  (NO EXCEPTIONS)
3.  Appointment/retention is subject to a favorable evaluation of a personnel security/suitability investigation.
4.  Completed Federal Resume.
5.  Completed Form OF-306 (Declaration for Federal Employment) available at http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/of0306.pdf. Submit the form at the time of application.
6.  Latest transcript from the current or most recently attended college or university.  Unofficial copy acceptable.
7.  Cover letter stating professional objectives; include language abilities if relevant.
8.  Two (2) letters of recommendation, each from an appropriate professor attesting to the applicant's proficiency, reliability and the feasibility of his/her carrying out assignments.

Letters of recommendation must be emailed by midnight, February 27, 2012. Recommendations should be sent from the college or university e-mail address of the professor, submitting the recommendation to:  interns2012@loc.gov.  The subject line MUST READ: Recommendation letter for [full name of applicant/student].

For all documents except letters of recommendation, you must follow the "Faxing Supporting Documentation" instructions located within the online application, which will provide a cover sheet for each of your documents so that they can be correctly submitted. The fax number will appear on the cover sheet.  Each cover sheet and corresponding document must be faxed separately.  Please review your confirmation to ensure that all pages were sent.:


IMPORTANT NOTE:  Once selected and hired for the internship, every effort will be made to accommodate selections.  Due to the popularity of some areas of interest, preferred project placement cannot be guaranteed.  All project areas may not be available at the time applicants are selected and others may be added.  Applicants should be sure to indicate three project areas of interest on their applications.

PROJECT DETAILS WILL BE DISCUSSED DURING INTERVIEWS.

Generally, interns work on projects in the following areas:

    
Archival Management (Mary Wolfskill Trust Fund Intern)
Skill(s)/Knowledge desired: Microsoft Office production software; Use of computer and a variety of computer software and web applications.

Area Studies (African & Middle Eastern)
Skill(s)/Knowledge desired: Basic computer skills, scanning, Microsoft Excel, interest in history. Portuguese or Hebraic language helpful.

Area Studies (Japanese)
Skill(s)/Knowledge desired: Fluency of the Japanese language; especially reading.  Basic computer skills.

Area Studies (Korea)
Skill(s)/Knowledge desired:  Basic computer skills, attention to detail, knowledge of Korean.

Area Studies (European)
Skill(s)/Knowledge desired: Basic knowledge of Russian and an interest in learning cataloging skills.

Area Studies (Hispanic)
Skill(s)/Knowledge desired: Microsoft Office production software, knowledge of Spanish, and knowledge of research methods for Spanish literary studies.

Collection Management
Skills(s)/Knowledge desired: Microsoft Office production software; use of computer and a variety of computer software and web applications.

Copyright Deposit Collections
Skill(s)/Knowledge desired: Microsoft Office production software; Use of computer and a variety of computer software and web applications.

Digital Preservation
Skill(s)/Knowledge desired: Use of computer and a variety of computer software and web applications.

Folklife (American Folklife Center)
Skill(s)/Knowledge desired: Some formal education or experience working in archives is preferred.

Geography and Map
Skill(s)/Knowledge desired: Use of computer and a variety of computer software and web applications.

Humanities and Social Science
Skill(s)/Knowledge desired:  Use of computer and a variety of computer software and web applications, attention to detail, and research.  Knowledge of HTML is a plus.

Law Library
Skill(s)/Knowledge desired: Should be able to use word processing software, attention to detail, and research.

Local History and Genealogy
Skills(s)/Knowledge desired: MS Excel.  Knowledge of HTML is a plus.

Manuscript Collections Processing
Skill(s)/Knowledge desired: Use of computer and a variety of computer software and web applications.

Music
Skill(s)/Knowledge desired: Use of computer and a variety of computer software and web applications.

Poetry (Scholarly Programs Office)
Skill(s)/Knowledge desired: Use of computer and a variety of computer software and web applications.

Preservation (Chemistry)
Skill(s)/Knowledge desired: Use of computer and a variety of computer software and web applications.

Prints & Photography (Visual Arts History)
Skill(s)/Knowledge desired: Experience working in a library or museum has been helpful in the past or knowledge of history or photography but are not required.

Rare Books and Special Collections
Skills desired: Project 1:  Advanced Russian language, aptitude to read pre-Revolutionary Cyrillic handwriting, attention to detail.  Project 2: Student should have good computer skills, attention to detail, and the ability to work independently much of the time.  

Recorded Sound (DC and Culpeper, VA locations)
Skill(s)/Knowledge desired: Attentive to detail and strong organization skills, interest or knowledge of archival processes and organization; Microsoft Office software, searching local databases, and Internet skills.

Science, Technology, and Business
Skill(s)/Knowledge desired: Use of computer and a variety of computer software and web applications.

Serials and Government Publications/Newspapers
Skill(s)/Knowledge desired: Knowledge of MS Word, Access, and historical research tools would be helpful, as well as good attention to detail; possess strong written communication skills, and have the ability to do HTML markup.  

World Digital Library Project
Skill(s)/Knowledge desired: Basic computer skills; foreign language skills definitely a plus; interest in history and the humanities.

Young Readers Center (Center for the Book)
Skill(s)/Knowledge desired: Website production and social media outreach skills; library science and/or knowledge of children's and young adult library services.

No additional requirements to those listed above.

HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED:

Completed application packages will be forwarded to selecting officials in the Library who will arrange telephone interviews with promising applicants, based on the application package and desired skills.
To preview questions please click here.

Interns are temporary employees of the Library of Congress and are not eligible for most Federal Employee benefits and privileges. However, they are protected by worker's compensation laws and eligible for the transportation subsidy program for qualified individuals who use the Metro System, Virginia Rail Express, MARC commuter trains, and county and commercial buses and qualified commercial van pools to commute to their jobs at the Library.

OTHER INFORMATION:

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 the agency. 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.

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 emailed 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 jobhelp@loc.gov , no later than 4:30pm EST of the Closing Date.   REQUESTS FOR EXTENSIONS WILL NOT BE GRANTED.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:

1.  Completed Federal Resume.
2.  Two (2) letters of recommendation from an appropriate professor attesting to the applicant's proficiency, reliability and the feasibility of his/her carrying out assignments.
3.  Latest transcript from the current or most recently attended university or college. We will accept an unofficial copy.
4.  Cover letter stating professional objectives; include language abilities if relevant.
5.  Complete form OF-306 (Declaration for Federal Employment) available at:  http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/of0306.pdf.

AGENCY CONTACT INFO:

WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT:

Please review our evaluation process under "How You Will Be Evaluated."  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 this vacancy has been filled.