Seems like a good idea—I had a couple of students last summer who were doing art "internships" at places in NYC and both of them quit..the work was meaningless, not instructive and unpaid as well.  we know that there may not be a lot of money to pay interns, but it would seem reasonable to have the amount of time required be such that the intern might still be able to get a half time job as a way of making the whole prospect be a little more affordable. Seems that as long as I have been here, the vast majority of internships were unpaid, or paid something silly like subway fare…really? Of course this generally means that the only people who can do those internships are the ones whose families live in the right place, or who are wealthy enough to be able to pay for food and housing. In NYC or any of the other big cities, this is a formidable barrier.

For a while, before the internet had so much info on it, a faculty member and I scoured places to find paid internships and made a notebook of them, with directions for applying early and often…. It was a lot of work, and thank goodness the 'net does this now, but that also means there are 800 applicants for every position….

Anne

From: <Gendron>, Heather Hope <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: "Gendron, Heather Hope" <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Wednesday, April 23, 2014 1:57 PM
To: ARLIS <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: [ARLIS-L] Internship Postings on ARLIS-L & the Internship Roster

Perhaps we can form an ad-hoc group w/in ARLIS to work on this issue?  That is, if no group in ARLIS is already working on it?  I’d be happy to participate, if that’s the case. 

 

A problem that I’ve observed with internships-gone-wrong is a lack of clearly articulated and achievable goals/expectations between intern and institution.  The number of hours devoted to the internship, as well as the direct educational benefits, should all be taken into account.  Interns should feel empowered to set the agenda of their internships, while helping host sites innovate and grow. This is where I agree with you that ARLIS/NA could assist with “best practice guidelines”. 

 

Please note that the ARLIS/NA Internship Roster does require a designation of paid/unpaid. 

 

Heather Gendron
Art Librarian, Sloane Art Library
Coordinator of Assessment, University Library

SILS, Adjunct Professor
UNC Chapel Hill
Phone: 919.962.1061 

 

From: ARLIS/NA List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Sheila A. Cork
Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2014 12:36 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [ARLIS-L] Internship Postings on ARLIS-L & the Internship Roster

 

Hi,

I started working on a set of guidelines for interns and intern host locations while I was the Chair of Special Library Section of the Mississippi Library Association.  Unfortunately that had to be left on one side. 

I surveyed USM students about internship experiences, and talked to people who had hosted them, and was basing my recommendations on that. 

I can pick this up again, but I am unsure who's attention to direct it to.

Advice?

 

 

Sheila A. Cork
Librarian
New Orleans Museum of Art
City Park
1 Collins Diboll Circle
P.O. Box 19123
New Orleans, LA 70179-0123

504-658-4117
[log in to unmask]

---

From: "Lane, Elizabeth" <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2014 9:35 AM
Subject: [ARLIS-L] Internship Postings on ARLIS-L & the Internship Roster

All,

 

Since the appropriate use of ARLIS-L and the website is being discussed, I would like to bring another related issue to the discussion.  A few years back I wrote to the ARLIS/NA Professional Development Committee asking what the guidelines were for being included on the ARLIS/NA Internship Roster.  Here is my email:

 

What are the guidelines for being included on the ARLIS/NA Internship Roster?  I find it troubling that we include for-profit institutions that offer “unpaid internships” that sound like they should be paid positions.  See one such example below.  Is it possible for us as an organization to have some type of stance so as to protect those who are trying to get their foot in the door?  Or, perhaps we could have best practices guidelines for both intern and intern providers so that each party has a clearer understanding about the internship role?  I realize that this is part of a much larger problem, but it would be nice if we could take even a few small steps in righting it.

 

Take note that I left out the internship that I referenced in the email.  I believe that interns’ rights are going to become more of an issue in the near future, and it would be nice if ARLIS/NA was proactive on that front.  I think that at the very least, internships that are unpaid should state that in their internships postings.  This email also relates to another thread being discussed on ARLIS-L concerning library salaries. 

 

If we don’t stand for something, we will fall for anything.

— Irene Dunne on America’s Town Meeting of the Air

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Lane

Associate Librarian for Public Services

Frick Art Reference Library

The Frick Collection

10 East 71st Street

New York, NY 10021

212.547.0638

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Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail

 

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