About

The Reference and Instruction internship at Gould Library of Carleton College is a student employment opportunity made possible thanks to a partnership with the Career Center. This internship offers students the opportunity to work on meaningful projects while learning about the library profession, with an emphasis on research and instruction. The work of interns also contributes to the needs of the Reference and Instruction department.

This internship is an excellent opportunity for students who are service oriented and would like to work in direct contact with fellow students and other library patrons by providing them with research assistance. Interns work ten hours per week, and in addition to working at the Research/IT desk, they work on assigned projects, complete required readings, and reflection activities via blog posts that can be found on this site. In addition, interns attend professional development training sessions with the Career Center, attend local library conferences, and deliver presentations about their projects.

Examples of projects that reference interns have worked on in the past include developing research guides, assisting librarians with library instruction, developing marketing materials, and writing short essays to promote national library celebrations such as and Open Access Week. Because research is a major part of the departments’ focus, interns will often work on research projects as an opportunity to grow their research skills, which can then by applied at the Research/IT desk.

To learn more about the Reference and Instruction internship and to learn about upcoming internship job openings, please contact Claudia Peterson, Reference and Instruction Librarian at cpeterson3@carleton.edu.