Archives? (and other summer stuff)

[klm22]

Hi, I'm a sophomore history major interested in doing something history-related over the summer, both for my personal edification and because I hear it is helpful. I've been told that the best things to do are working as a research assistant to a professor, working at an archive, and working at a museum, in that order. I'm currently working on trying to find a professor to work with (which is difficult), and I'm also putting together a possible independent research project, which I will pursue if I can get funding for it (also pretty hard as a sophomore). So, I'm guessing that I should probably be working on archives as a possibility as well.

However, I'm slightly hazy about what exactly one does as an assistant at an archive. How do you make sure you get a position for a history major rather than one for a future librarian? (Or is there a difference?) For that matter, how do you go about getting one of these positions at all? I do have a list of libraries and archives that might be good for my interests (made with the help of one of my professors), but I'm not sure who or how to write to at each of these places, or frankly how to talk intelligently about what I want to do there. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Nofia]

Look at the websites of archives, museums, and historic homes or historical societies in your area and see what sort of internship experiences they have available, and then apply like crazy because more likely than not, deadlines are fast approaching. If they don't have a website, write a polite email or make a phone call to inquire about internship experiences. in most cases, these internships will largely be geared around what the institution needs help with (digitization project, small research projects etc.), but often they try to include tasks that will appeal to your own interests as well. Read about what each institution does and see what about their collections piques your interest. As for the specificity of the training--its more the experience with working with the materials, seeing what archivists, curators, registrars and the like do; doing an internship at any place won't force you onto a specific path. And regardless, all are good potential careers for history majors (archivists and librarians are different by the way, and have different graduate training). internships build your resume, show your interest in the field, and give you some research experience, all of which can also be translated into a good grad school application.

[niwatori_tori]

I would advise you to look into summer language programs as well. Languages are considered essential for professional work in history (French and German are more-or-less required; Italian, Latin, and something 'exotic' like a Slavic language or Greek are a definite plus). It's fairly easy to get a FLAG (I'm assuming you're at a US university), especially if you can tie it into 'informal' archival work. There are numerous country-specific grants via academic exchange programs, EU universities, and often through US universities. Even if you don't become fluent in whatever language you study (in any event, most historians can only read foreign languages) it will still look good on your CV, plus it's fun to travel a bit

You could always do assistantships, archival and library work (probably volunteer) during term-time. These positions tend not to be too 'demanding' if you get my drift.