UT Southwestern Health Sciences Digital Library and Learning Center has a Spring 2017 unpaid practicum available in its Digital Collections unit. The Digital Collections unit is responsible for cataloging, metadata, archives, and special collections within the library. This graduate-level practicum provides hands-on experience with archives and digitization.

The UT Southwestern Archives in the Health Sciences Digital Library and Learning Center has twelve different collections documenting the history of UT Southwestern and its predecessor institutions, the University Hospitals, careers of notable campus individuals, and Parkland Hospital. Working with the digital archivist, practicum work will center on modifications for the UT Southwestern Archives collection. This includes an overview of the entire collection, prior to extensive reprocessing and description for Series 2 materials—fourteen linear feet—within the collection. (Series 2 encompasses materials relating to the institution as a whole.)

The current description for Series 2 is inadequate for discoverability purposes. Many of the bullet points only indicate subjects, not what the record type or content actually is. Reprocessing this collection would allow for a detailed understanding of the types of materials we have regarding a specific subject, topic, or event. Having an accounting of the type of materials (brochures vs. case statements vs. correspondence, etc.) can help identify gaps in record materials.  A more detailed listing of the contents of Series 2 will allow for easier discoverability of content by researchers.

The intern will also identify and prioritize selected materials within Series 2 for digitization, then digitize a subset of these materials. They will then be deposited by the intern into the online UT Southwestern Institutional Repository, which is hosted by the Texas Digital Library. The intern will work with the digital archivist to raise awareness of these items using the Library’s social media accounts.

This practicum provides practical, hands-on work with the arrangement and description of materials within an archival collection, as well as an introduction to digitization. The experience gained from this practicum will allow the intern to better understand the complexities of providing physical and digital access to materials within an archival collection. In addition to training in archival work, additional training will be provided for basic digitization, as well as using DSpace to deposit materials into the repository.

The ideal practicum student is interested in physical and digital archives, is able to work with a high attention to detail and accuracy, and is familiar with spreadsheet and document applications. Interested in applying for this practicum? Send a resume and cover letter describing your background and interest to archives@utsouthwestern.edu .  The deadline for resume/cover letter submissions is Tuesday, December 13. 

Cameron Kainerstorfer, MSIS
Digital Collections Manager/Digital Archivist
Health Sciences Digital Library and Learning Center
UT Southwestern Medical Center
5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX 75390-9049
214-648-7675
cameron.kainerstorfer@utsouthwestern.edu
http://library.utsouthwestern.edu