NCompass Live - February 2, 2022 http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ncompasslive/ In early 2020, archivists in higher education rushed to modify and create digital projects that would sustain them and their student employees and interns, during an unknown stretch of working from home. As the pandemic settled in and working from home expectations changed, students continued to need work and learning opportunities. In this panel, the presenters will address planning for remote, in-person, and hybrid projects in outreach, digital initiatives, and processing for student workers. The presenters will discuss the implementation of different student projects and consider lessons learned. The presenters will ideate a more formalized internship design and workflow, looking to increase remote collaboration with students even as they return to full time in-person work. Through this work, the presenters plan to create student projects that are mutually beneficial and leave the students with a sense of purpose, accomplishment, and support they can carry with them to their classes and their future employment. Presenters: Wendy Guerra, Digital Initiatives Archivist; Claire Du Laney, Outreach Archivist; Lori Schwartz, Hagel Archivist; Archives and Special Collections, University of Nebraska at Omaha.

1. Intentional Design
Crafting a Mutually Beneficial Internship Program in a
University Archives and Special Collections
February 2, 2022
UNO Libraries' Archives and Special Collections

2. UNO Libraries' Archives and Special Collections
Claire Du Laney | she, her
Outreach Archivist
Wendy Guerra, | she, her
Digital Initiatives Archivist
Lori Schwartz, | she, her
Hagel and Technical
Services Archivist

3. Land Acknowledgement
It is appropriate to acknowledge that UNO occupies the traditional treaty lands of the
Omaha and Otoe-Missouria Tribal Nations whose sovereignty existed long before the state
of Nebraska. We would also like to express our respect to the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska, the
Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, the Santee Sioux Tribe of Nebraska, and over 170 other
tribes represented within the Omaha area.
Please take a moment to consider the legacies of more than 150 years of displacement,
violence, settlement, and survival that bring us together here today. At the University of
Nebraska, we respect and seek out inclusion of differences, realizing we can learn from
each other, and we look forward to building long-lasting relationships with the Indigenous
People of Nebraska. UNL Native American Coalition
UNO Libraries' Archives and Special Collections

4. Context...
• Pandemic and going remote
• Born of necessity
• Project floaters
• Short-term project creation
and management
• Ethical considerations
UNO Libraries' Archives and Special Collections

5. Projects and Our Students: Processing
Worked with 7 students:
• 2 interns (1 remote)
• 5 student employees (3 remote)
Projects:
• Processing small collection from start
to finish (in-person)
• Evaluation and suggested
arrangement & description of digital
collection (remote)
• Metadata enhancement and cleanup
in ArchivesSpace (remote)
• Additional description in
ArchivesSpace (remote)
UNO Libraries' Archives and Special Collections

6. Projects and Our Students:
Digital Initiatives
UNO Libraries' Archives and Special Collections
Worked with 6 students:
• 4 interns (3 remote and 1 hybrid)
• 2 student employees (remote and
hybrid)
Projects:
• Scanning
• Post-processing of digital objects with
trial versions of Adobe Acrobat,
Bridge, and Photoshop
• MODS creation with trial version of
Oxygen XML editor
• Digital asset management in Islandora

7. Projects and Our Students: Outreach
Worked with three (3) students:
• 2 practicum students
• 1 long-term grant student
Areas of success:
• Exhibits
• Primary source research
• Trust-building
Areas improved by program framework:
• Project direction
• Project clarity
UNO Libraries' Archives and Special Collections

8. Internship
Program Design
• Own experiences and ideas
• Design a well-rounded,
mutually beneficial experience
shaped by empathy and
ethics
• Tracks...main projects and
side projects
UNO Libraries' Archives and Special Collections

9. Internship Program Design
• Learning plan: importance of
learning plan and objectives and
setting things up ahead of time,
planning
• Required readings
• Informational Interviews
• Final Presentation
• Exit interview
UNO Libraries' Archives and Special Collections

10. Application
UNO Libraries' Archives and Special Collections

11. Lessons (Being) Learned
Pilot 1
• Flexibility is key for interns who are full-time otherwise occupied (school and/or
work)
• Learning plan required by school program may need supplementing
• What is reasonable for processing in 15 hours
• Send follow up emails with project expectations
• Intern hired!
UNO Libraries' Archives and Special Collections

12. Lessons (Being) Learned
Pilot 2
• Structure & learning plan are essential
• Importance of sticking to learning plan for projects for the sake of
supervisor time commitments
• Not assuming communication, but making communication happen
between supervisors
• Take metrics from time tracking to plan for future intern projects.
• Example: social media template
• LOT of pressure in a short time and a shallow experience
• Don't underestimate the importance of the readings
UNO Libraries' Archives and Special Collections

13. Moving Forward: see what happens this semester
UNO Libraries' Archives and Special Collections

14. Thank you!
Wendy Guerra: wguerra@unomaha.edu
Claire Du Laney: cdulaney@unomaha.edu
Lori Schwartz: lschwartz@unomaha.edu
UNO Libraries' Archives and Special Collections