Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success

Effective Library Internships

A Toolkit for Success

Created by Multnomah County Library

Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success i

Acknowledgements

This tutorial was designed by Multnomah Country Library (www.multcolib.org) in Multnomah County, Oregon

as part of their D.I.Y. Intern Program – Toolkit for Success Project

This project was generously funded by a 2011-2012 grant from the State of Oregon’s Library Services & Technology Act (LSTA) Program.

http://www.multcolib.org

http://www.multcolib.org

http://oregon.gov/OSL/LD/lsta.shtml

Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success ii

How to Use This Toolkit

When we started this project, we set out to create a comprehensive, accessible toolkit that covered everything one might want or need to know about engaging interns at their library. What we ended up with was over 80 pages of ideas, suggestions, tips, and templates. While we think we met our goal of being comprehensive, we also recognize that having 80+ pages of material might make this document seem a bit overwhelming. With that in mind, here are a few suggestions for how you might consider going through the toolkit:• Glance through the Table of Contents and download just those chapters that

are most relevant for you and your library.

• Download the entire toolkit but just skim each chapter, reading headings as you go and spending more time on those sections that are most interesting.

• Already have an internship program? Unless you are interested in doing a bit of internal assessment or review, you can likely skip the first three Chapters, starting instead with Chapter 4.

• Brand new to engaging interns? Be sure to read Chapter 1 to learn a little more about potential benefits and challenges of hosting interns at your library.

• Looking for examples and templates to use? Skip ahead to the Appendix chapters where we have lots of materials ready to print or download for your use as handouts, document templates, or simply inspiration.

• Check out the sections of our website at http://libraryinterns.blogspot.com for additional real world examples, web-based resources, and other tools that you might find of value.

Finally, keep in mind that all libraries – and library internship programs – are going to be different, depending on such things as the size of the staff, the location, the communi-ties served, programs and services offered, and past or current experience with interns. We’ve done our best to offer diverse options for how you might run your program but also recognize that some of the ideas in this toolkit may simply be beyond the scope of what is wanted and/or possible. Therefore, please borrow what might be useful, let us know what we should include in a future version, and, overall, feel free to customize and tailor as you see fit.

Here’s to the success of *your* library interns!

About this book Looking for more info about this book? Visit http://libraryinterns.blogspot.com, where you can download individual chapters or the entire book, and find other related resources (all free of charge).

http://libraryinterns.blogspot.com


Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success iii

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements iHow to Use This Toolkit ii

Chapter 1: Why Internships? 1Chapter 2: Getting Ready 8Chapter 3: Developing a Program 11Chapter 4: Finding Interns 20Chapter 5: Screening and Selection 26Chapter 6: Training Interns 30Chapter 7: Facilitating Intern On-the-Job Learning 33Chapter 8: Mentoring, Shadowing, and Supervision 35Chapter 9: Recognition and Evaluation 44Chapter 10: Additional Resources 51

Appendix A: Potential Benefits and Challenges of Hosting Interns 52Appendix B: Library Readiness Assessment Questions 55Appendix C: Identifying Internship Projects and Roles 57Appendix D: Internship Position Description Template 59Appendix E: Internship Application Template 60Appendix F: Sample Auto-Reply Text for Applicants 61Appendix G: Sample Acceptance and Rejection Letters 62Appendix H: Interview Questions Checklist 64Appendix I: Reference Interviews Template 65Appendix J: Considering DIY Candidates 66Appendix K: Internship Agreement Template 67Appendix L: Orientation Checklist 68Appendix M: Establishing Expectations 69Appendix N: Training Checklist 70Appendix O: The First Meeting – Supervisors Checklist 71Appendix P: Facilitating Reflection 72Appendix Q: Check-in Meeting Strategies 73Appendix R: Strategies for Conflict Resolution 75Appendix S: Sample Exit Interview 76Appendix T: Sample Supervisor Evaluation Form 77Appendix U: Internship Management Checklist 79Appendix V: Internship Program Calendar Templates 81Appendix W: Ten Concerns of Interns 82

Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success Chapter 1 1

Chapter 1: Why Internships?

Are you a staff member or volunteer at a library that is considering hosting interns? Perhaps you are at a library that already engages interns but are looking for ways to do so more strategically, thoughtfully and effectively? If so, you’ve come to the right place. This toolkit, developed by Multnomah County Library in Oregon (serving Portland, Oregon and parts of the great-er metropolitan area), will help you make key distinctions about when to pursue interns. Furthermore, the toolkit will help you design, build, and implement a library in-ternship program that will meet the needs of your library and help you find – and effectively engage – qualified interns for a myriad of potential projects and roles.

Ready to get started? Let’s begin with some basic defini-tions of internships.

What are Internships?

DefinitionsAccording to Messiah College and the Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania: “An internship is any carefully monitored work or service experience in which a student has intentional learning goals and reflects actively on what she or he is learning throughout the experience.” Expanding on this definition, they then described several common characteristics of internships, including: • “Duration of anywhere from a month to two years, but a typical experience

usually lasts from three to six months.

• Generally a one-time experience.

• May be part-time or full-time.

• May be paid or non-paid.

• Internships may be part of an educational program and carefully monitored and evaluated for academic credit, or internships can be part of a learning plan that someone develops individually.

• An important element that distinguishes an internship from a short-term job or volunteer work is that an intentional ‘learning agenda’ is structured into the experience.

• Learning activities common to most internships include learning objectives, observation, reflection, evaluation and assessment.

• An effort is made to establish a reasonable balance between the intern’s learning goals and the specific work an organization needs done.

• Internships promote academic, career and/or personal development”1

Internship Management Checklist

At the start of each chapter in this toolkit, we’ll offer an Internship Management Check-list to help you prepare for each step in the process. You may check these off as you go or you can print/use the full checklist we’ve included in the appendix.

1. “Starting and Maintaining A Quality Internship Program,” p. 2

https://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~gsph/fieldpractice/sites/starting-maintaining-quality-internship-program.pdf


So what do these definitions mean for libraries? Within the field, many schools of library and information science routinely offer their students experiential learning op-portunities such as internships or practicums as a means of introducing students to the realities of the workplace and of fostering a sense of professional identity and values. In turn, many libraries accept or actively seek interns to assist with library projects and responsibilities, all while offering opportunities for hands-on learning in a real world environment.

As explained by Cindy Mediaville in “Public Library Internships: Advice from the Field”:

Students are placed in libraries or other types of information environments where they work with and observe practitioners. The internship--also called a ‘practicum’ or ‘directed fieldwork’ in some schools--is a structured experience, supervised by a degreed professional and monitored by a faculty member and/or program coordinator... Since the general purpose of an internship is to integrate theory with hands-on experience, most pro-grams require that the student complete the school’s ‘core’ courses before registering for any type of fieldwork.2

When staff persons at libraries around the Pacific Northwest were asked in late 2011 to define internships, respondents cited such characteristics as:• A focus on the career exploration and skill development of the intern, often

tied to academic learning goals, objectives, and/or university program requirements;

• The responsibility of the library to provide training, mentorship, and evaluation, often in partnership with and/or according to the guidelines of an academic institution;

• Roles that are generally of a pre-determined length and structure, often project-based; and

• Interns are generally expected to already have the appropriate educational background to take on skilled roles and projects, often with more responsibility and including more complex tasks than might be expected of a volunteer.

So How Do They Differ From Traditional – or even Skilled, Pro Bono – Volunteers?There are several ways in which interns differ from volunteers. First, there are such things as paid internships while there are very few instances where volunteers will re-ceive compensation although some volunteers do receive reimbursement for such things as miles traveled.

Second, as pointed out by Messiah College and the Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania, internships are usually a one-time experience over the course of one or more months. While many libraries seek out volunteers who can commit to volunteer-ing over a similar or longer period of time, it is more common for a volunteer to par-ticipate for a period of time, take a break for some length of time, and then potentially come back to volunteer again. Alternatively, it is very rare for an intern to come back for a second internship period.

“”

2. “Public Library Internships: Advices from the Field” edited by Cindy Mediavilla. introduction viii


Third, while many volunteers do indeed experience, and perhaps may even be mo-tivated to volunteer in the interest of seeking, personal and/or professional develop-ment as part of their service experience, it is not always a central motivating factor of a volunteer opportunity. However, for internships, professional development – whether academic or career – is fundamentally a part of its raison d’etre. Indeed, the learning process of the intern is a central component of the internship experience, as important as the work completed by the intern during their term of service.

How Do They Differ From Staff?Beyond the issue of pay and benefits (for paid interns), there are other important dis-tinctions between staff and interns. For one thing, interns are often engaged for a specific period of time, making them more akin to contractors than staff persons. In addition, your process for finding, recruiting, and securing interns is likely to be very different than your process for finding, hiring, and retaining staff. For details on the in-ternship recruitment and management process, please see later chapters in this toolkit.

Interns vs. Volunteers vs. Staff

Characteristic Interns Volunteers StaffReceive compensation for service Sometimes No Yes

Pre-determined length of project/role Yes SometimesNo (except for contract staff )

Return to do same or different project/role in the future

Rarely Often Sometimes

Specific skills required to begin project/role Yes Sometimes Yes

Specific education required to begin project/role Yes Sometimes Yes

Can be hired to replace paid staff No No Yes

Focus on experiential learning of participant Yes Sometimes Sometimes

Focus on career development of participant Yes Sometimes Often

Participation part of academic program Often Sometimes Sometimes

Additional important distinctions between staff and interns can be found in the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division’s Fact Sheet #71: Internship Programs Un-der The Fair Labor Standards Act. This short but informative document offers guidance on such topics as when an intern can be employed in an unpaid capacity. Fact Sheet #71 also advises that internships “should be of a fixed duration, established prior to the outset of the internship. Further, unpaid internships generally should not be used by the employer as a trial period for individuals seeking employment at the conclusion of the internship period. If an intern is placed with the employer for a trial period with the expectation that he or she will then be hired on a permanent basis, that individual generally would be considered an employee under the [Fair Labor Standards Act].”

While this fact sheet was designed to help for-profit employers determine whether interns should be paid under the Fair Labor Standards Act, they offer the following clarification at the bottom of the document: “The [Fair Labor Standards Act] makes a special exception under certain circumstances for individuals who volunteer to per-form services for a state or local government agency and for individuals who volun-teer for humanitarian purposes for private non-profit food banks. [Wage and Hour Division] also recognizes an exception for individuals who volunteer their time, freely

http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs71.pdf




and without anticipation of compensation for religious, charitable, civic, or humanitarian purposes to non-profit organizations. Unpaid internships in the public sector and for non-profit charitable organizations, where the intern volunteers without expectation of compensation, are generally permissible. [Wage and Hour Division] is reviewing the need for additional guidance on internships in the public and non-profit sectors.”

To read Fact Sheet #71 in its entirety, please visit:http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs71.pdf.

Partnering with Local Unions In addition to reviewing Department of Labor rules concerning internships, you might also want to consult with any local unions affiliated with your library. As part of adhering to the Department of Labor rules, your library will have already agreed to not displace any regular employees. Given this commitment, do they have any questions about how interns will join the your current team of staff and volunteers at the library? What roles they will take on? How current staff will be involved in the recruitment and management process? Do they have any concerns that you can address? Having an open discussion with local shop stewards or other union personnel both before you begin hosting interns as well as throughout the development of your program may help to prevent misunder-standings about how interns can best be engaged as part of the team at your library.

Potential Benefits and Challenges of Hosting Interns

There are several reasons to consider hosting one or more interns at your library. Indeed, there are a number of benefits that can be accrued both the library and the individual intern. Here are a few of those benefits, as collected from sources in the field as well as respondents to the internship engagement survey of libraries in the Pacific Northwest:

Potential Benefits for the Library• The ability to get more work done with the

assistance of skilled interns, including tasks and projects that might otherwise not get done at all (as well as opportunities for staff to try out new projects which they previously would have been unable to try);

• The opportunity to train and invest in the next generation of library leadership (including identifying potential future employees);

• Model career paths to and within libraries to your patrons;

• Access to new perspectives, ideas, and skill sets;

• Access to professional development opportunities for existing staff (for example, developing management skills);

• The opportunity for self-reflection and evaluation, facilitated by sharing staff expertise with interns;

A Quick Note Regarding Paid Internships

This toolkit focuses almost entirely on the development and management of unpaid internships. If you are considering offering paid internships, you might want to read Pub-lic Library Internships: Advice from the Field,” edited by Cindy Mediaville and published by Scarecrow Press, Inc. in 2006, for additional information and possible models.



• Opportunities to build and sustain partnerships with educational institutions and communities;

• Furthering the library’s mission of reaching out to and providing educational opportunities to the community;

• The affordability and flexibility of engaging interns;

• Interns diversifying the library team, including bringing in younger individuals and individuals representative of the community served;

• Opportunities for positive public relations in the community and with funders;

• To better serve and support your community; and

• Building a cadre of people who better understand the work of the library and can therefore be strong advocates of their importance.

Potential Benefits for the Intern• Opportunities for high quality, hands-on experience in a real world library

setting, including mentorship, job-shadowing, and exposure to many different kinds of library roles and projects;

• Professional skill development and resume-building in a supportive environment;

• Chance for interns to confirm that they are on the right career path and/or determine specific interests or areas of specialization within library environments to pursue;

• Access to building new professional relationships, networks, job contacts, and potential references; and

• Opportunities to gain and fulfill academic credits and requirements, all while applying real world practice to academic learning.

Potential Challenges to ConsiderSo with all of these potential benefits to garner from hosting interns, it might seem like a no-brainer to get started. However, there are also some real challenges to consider before taking the leap, including: • Lacking the infrastructure to effectively find, train, and manage interns and/or

adhere to university requirements;

• Lacking knowledge of and/or time to develop appropriate internship projects;

• Lacking time and/or staff capacity to effectively engage interns;

• Lacking the necessary financial, space, or other types of resources to effectively engage interns;

• Finding and matching appropriate interns given available internship roles or tasks;

• Establishing clear understanding of and agreement to library and intern needs and expectations;

• Staff lacking the necessary skills to train and supervise interns (as well as an understanding of what interns can potentially do);

• Sustaining intern projects after the internship is complete;


• Understanding the culture of your workplace and bringing in someone who will be a good fit; and

• Interns taking the lead on a project that a staff person wants to take on, potentially unintentionally fostering jealousy or resentment.

Having reviewed these challenges though, one of the goals of this toolkit is to help you assess, prepare for, and ideally prevent them from diminishing the benefits your library can experience from hosting interns.

Consider what Cindy Mediaville wrote in “Public Library Internships: Advice from the Field” on this topic:

Although internships demand a lot of effort on the part of the student, the school, and the worksite, the benefits of such programs are overwhelming-ly positive. Not only does the practicum allow the student an opportunity to put into practice new skills and knowledge learned in the classroom, but this experience may actually lead to one’s very first professional job. In addition, the internship site gains an enthusiastic, if temporary, employee who often brings a fresh perspective to the workplace. Mentor relation-ships may also develop as new professional networks are formed.3

How Might Your Library Engage Interns?

While Chapter 3 will cover some of the potential projects, tasks, and roles appropriate for library internships, there are a few overarching models of internships to consider.

Short-Term vs. Long-Term InternshipsInternships can be either short-term – ranging from a few weeks to a month or two – or longer-term, lasting up to one year. During these internship periods, some interns might seek full-time engagement while others may work only 5-10 hours per week. Weekly hours and length of the internship will depend on the needs of the library as well as any university requirements a student intern might be seeking to fulfill. Again, for interns serving close to or full-time equivalent, you’ll also want to consult current labor laws to confirm that you are keeping in practice with the spirit and limitations of the law.

In-Person vs. OnlineThe vast majority of internships are completed in-person with the intern working physi-cally within the hosting library. However, it is also possible to engage interns remotely via the Internet. This can be an especially valuable model of internship engagement for web-based projects and/or libraries that are located in more remote areas.

Ongoing Tasks vs. New ProjectsInterns can be brought onboard to launch new library programs or take on still-to-be-started tasks. Alternatively, interns can be engaged to assist with ongoing tasks and responsibilities such as collection development or youth programs.

“”



External Programs and Services vs. Internal Capacity BuildingInterns can take on both external and internal projects. For example, you might have interns assist with community programs or other projects in which they will interact with and be visible to the public. Alternatively, interns might work exclusively on internal capacity projects like updating the library website, assisting with acquisition and cata-loging, or training current staff on social media models.

Paid vs. Unpaid InternshipsWhether you are able to offer paid internships will likely depend on your library’s budget for engaging them. Should you determine that you would like to offer paid internships, you will need to review appropriate labor laws to confirm that you are in compliance with current rules and regulations. For example, the Oregon State Library internship program categorizes unpaid interns as serving as the equivalent of volun-teers while paid interns are effectively hired as state temporary employees. To review current labor laws as they apply to interns, please consult with your library’s human resources staff persons, legal counsel, and/or see the “U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division Fact Sheet #71: Internship Programs Under The Fair Labor Standards Act” at http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs71.pdf.

To begin the process of assessing your library’s readiness for interns, please continue to Chapter 2. l




Chapter 2: Getting Ready

Now that you know a little more about what internships are and how they might ben-efit your library, it’s time to assess whether your library is ready for them. This section of the toolkit will walk you through the process of determining readiness for engaging interns as well as facilitating internal buy-in for internships and tools for brainstorming appropriate intern projects and roles. While many of these tools are designed for li-braries considering hosting interns for the first time, they can also be useful questions for libraries already hosting interns to ask as part of an internal reflection and review process.

Assessing Your Library’s Readiness

There are a few things you will need to consider before deciding to host interns, rang-ing from issues of organizational culture and resources to risk assessment and potential projects and roles. To begin this process, consider asking yourself and your staff peers the following types of questions (You’ll also find this list of questions as a checklist in the appendix): • Has your library hosted interns in the past?

• If so, was it successful? How did you measure this success? What lessons were learned? Why did the internship program stop?

• If your library has not hosted interns, why not?

• How might interns further the mission and work of your library?

• How might your library benefit from hosting interns?

• How will interns benefit from joining your library team?

• What risks might exist for engaging interns?

• What potential problems might you foresee?

• What risks might exist for the intern? The library? The public?

• How might you prepare for and/or avoid these risks (training, supervision, insurance or liability coverage, etc.)?

• Is your library’s organizational culture amenable to hosting interns?

• For example, is it a politically charged environment? One that welcomes new team members?

• How might you specifically engage interns at your library?

• What types of projects, tasks, and roles might they take on?

1. Tasks in italics are those that you may only need to do when you are first setting up your internship program (although you should certainly plan to revisit these tasks at least once per year to confirm that they are still relevant).

Internship Management Checklist1

F Assess your library’s readiness for interns

F Make the case for your library to host interns


• What ongoing tasks and projects can be handed off to interns?

• What new tasks and projects can an intern potentially take on?

• Can any of these be done remotely via the Internet?

• What specific skills or knowledge will they need to succeed in these roles?

• Would these be part-time roles? Full-time roles?

• How might they differ from current volunteers? Staff?

• Does your library have appropriate capacity to host interns?

• Will staff be available to provide guidance and support to interns?

• Who will be responsible for each step of the process: finding interns, interviewing/selection, orientation and training, management and supervision, evaluation, etc.?

• Do you have a place for interns to work? The tools required to succeed: a desk, computer, etc.?

• What if any fiscal resources are available for the internship program?

• Are you willing to help interns find housing if they are coming in from out of town (for example, a summer internship)?

• How many interns can we reasonably support?

• Will these be part-time, full-time, or a mix of both?

• What if any experience does your fellow staff have with interns?

• Have they ever worked with and/or supervised interns?

• Are they comfortable collaborating with interns?

• What types of projects, roles, or tasks do they think might be appropriate for interns?

• What ongoing tasks and projects can be handed off to interns?

• What new tasks and projects can an intern potentially take on?

• What kind of support/training would they like or need to be prepared for working with and/or supervising interns?

Exploring answers to these questions will help you and your library start to consider whether you are ready to start seeking interns to join your team. Don’t worry though if you don’t have clear answers to all of these questions; in fact, many of your responses may be am-biguous or simply “I don’t know.” The important thing is that you’re beginning to consider the possibilities and getting ready to discover what’s possible.

Making the Case InternallyOne of the purposes of this guide is to help move you from ambiguity to clarity about the possibility of host-ing an intern and then allowing that to happen with the greatest of ease and opportunities for success. Once you

Considering Time Costs

In addition to financial resources that might be needed to effectively find and host interns, you’ll also need to budget for some real time costs. Unfortunately, a fair amount of time will need to go into such things as assess-ing and developing your internship program. However, once this has been developed, the amount of time required to find, select, orient, train, and supervise interns is likely to pale in comparison to the quantity – and quality – of time you’ll receive from your investment – namely the hands-on assistance of a skilled library intern.


have reviewed the questions in the previous section, you can then begin to make the case for interns to yourself, your peers, and decision-makers at your library.

You’ve also already begun the process of identifying what fellow staff members might need to be best prepared for working with as well as potentially supervising future interns. This may range from informal training – for example, a frank discussion about how to best partner with interns or a walkthrough of best practices for managing interns (see Chapter 8) – to having a voice in what kinds of projects interns will do during their time with the library.

Continue to Chapter 3 to learn more about how you might structure your internship program, including designing internship projects and roles, determining staffing needs, and crafting a vision and goals for your library’s program. l




Chapter 3: Developing a Program

Having performed an assessment of your library’s readiness for hosting interns, it is now time to begin building a formal internship program. Don’t let “building a program” seem intimidating though; this doesn’t necessarily mean hiring all new staff or developing a convoluted infrastructure to add to what is probably an already hectic workload. Instead, this chapter offers sev-eral models to consider and processes to implement to find and host interns with little effort.

Develop Goals and a Vision for Your Internship Program

Before we start to dive into the specifics of internship program infrastructure and activities, it is a good idea to spend a little time thinking about your library’s vision and goals for internship engagement.

To get started with this, consider the following two ques-tions; these should be answered both by you (or who-ever is most responsible for developing the infrastructure for your internship program) as well as, ideally, fellow staff members and leadership at the library:

1. What would a successful internship program look like at your library?

a. Consider writing a narrative description of this; for example, “our staff have more time to take on new projects while partnering with interns to complete ongoing library tasks.”

b. Do you know of any existing internship programs that you admire? What is it about their program that you find appealing? How can your library emulate that?

c. Take a look at the list of potential benefits in Chapter 1. Which are you aiming for? What would you like to see happen?

d. If someone were to ask you “Why should we host interns at our library?,” how would you answer their question? Consider revisiting Chapter 2’s section on making the case.

2. What tangible objectives and deliverables can you develop for your library internship program?

a. For example, would you like to have interns complete a pre-determined number of projects per year?


F Develop goals and a vision for your internship program

F Determine your intern program infrastructure

F Craft policies and procedures

F Brainstorm potential internship roles and projects

F Develop internship position descriptions for available roles

F Create an internship application

F Create an internship agreement form

F Create an internship handbook



i. What other deliverables might there be: number of interns, hours contributed, etc.?

ii. If you think interns might be able to provide new stories of interest for public relations or fundraising, how might you craft interesting projects that are newsworthy and/or fundable?

Internship Program Structure and Staffing

Now let’s start putting a basic framework in place. Looking at your library’s internship program from 30,000 feet, consider using one of the following program structure and staffing models:

1. You might assign one staff person to develop your library’s internship processes and infrastructure (using the steps in this chapter), then assign responsibilities for implementing each step of the process to one or more existing staff persons.

2. Another option is to develop the program in partnership with a skilled volunteer – or intern! – and again assign responsibilities for implementation to various staff persons, whether they be paid staff or volunteers.

3. Alternatively, if your library has funds and/or personnel available, consider hiring or allocating one or more full-time or half-time staff persons to develop and run the formal internship program from recruitment to evaluation.

For additional staffing/procedural models, including real world examples utilized by traditional and non-tradition-al libraries alike, consider reading “Public Library Intern-ships: Advice from the Field,” edited by Cindy Mediaville and published by Scarecrow Press, Inc. in 2006.

Regardless of whether you are able to allocate half to all of a paid employee’s time to serving as an internship program coordinator, it is a good idea for at least one person to be designated the point person for this pro-cess. This is especially important if considering a model where multiple people will be responsible for various pieces; the more complex the ship, the more important it is to have a competent captain at the helm!

However you assign responsibilities, there are several key steps to the internship engagement process that you will need to consider:• Finding/recruiting potential interns;

• Selection, vetting, and interviewing potential interns;

Here’s an example responsibility framework led by two staff persons:

• First, the library’s Volunteer Coordina-tor reaches out to all staff to determine internship needs and projects. Simul-taneously, staff members come to the Volunteer Coordinator with ideas for internship roles. Let’s say in this example that the Technology Director has a project idea and is seeking an intern.

• The Volunteer Coordinator will next develop a position description for this project in partnership with the Technology Director.

• The Volunteer Coordinator then leads the recruitment and screening process; the interview process is done in partnership with the Technology Director

• Once the intern has been hired, the Technology Director is responsible for leading (or potentially assigning the responsibility to other people within his or her department) training and orientation for the intern, ongoing management and communications with the intern (includ-ing ongoing professional development), and evaluating/recognizing the intern (including completing any paperwork that might be required by the intern’s college or university).

• Evaluation results then go back to the Volunteer Coordinator so that they can track overall internship program statistics as well as continue to fine-tune internship program components.


• Training and orientation;

• Supervision and management (including facilitating intern professional/educational development); and

• Evaluation and recognition.

Each of these steps in the process will be addressed by subsequent chapters in this toolkit. However, you may want to start thinking now about who might be available and/or most appropriate to do these types of work within your library’s staff and volunteer team.

Develop Policies and Procedures

Based on your organization’s vision, goals, and internship engagement infrastructure, you can then craft a short set of policies and procedures for the program. These will provide an overarching outline of your entire internship program.

Key components of a good set of policies and proce-dures will be:• Rules and regulations governing the engagement

of interns (for example, labor rules discussed in Chapter 1);

• Strategies for finding interns (including any standing relationships with university programs);

• Process for screening interns, including applications, interviews, etc.;

• Criteria and process for accepting or rejecting potential interns;

• Risk management, including how the intern program will seek to identify and avoid risks;

• Conflict resolution including disciplinary procedures, an intern’s rights and responsibilities, and the process for letting interns go where appropriate;

• Management framework, including communications and supervision techniques for engaging interns;

• Intern recognition, tracking, and evaluation strategies.

Keep in mind that the content for each of these components will be developed as you continue to work through this toolkit.

In addition, you should develop and include copies and/or templates for: • Standing internship position descriptions and templates;

• Internship application form(s)

• Internship contract/ agreement forms where the intern and library agree to a written set of expectations (based on the internship position description)

• Intern handbook

Start With What You’ve Got

If your library already engages volunteers, chances are good that an existing set of poli-cies and procedures exists for that program. Start with these and then change as needed to address specific internship concerns.


We’ll start developing these program components here in this chapter. You can also find good examples of internal internship policies on our website at http://libraryinterns.blogspot.com, as well as in the book “Public Library Internships: Ad-vice from the Field,” edited by Cindy Mediaville and published by Scarecrow Press, Inc. in 2006.

Intern Projects and Roles

Before you begin crafting position descriptions for potential interns, spend a little time brainstorming potential projects, tasks, and roles for them. Ask yourself – as well as staff peers and library leadership – questions like the following:

1. What are some skilled projects or tasks that you just don’t have time to get done?

a. How might an intern be able to assist with this? Can they take the lead? Assist with specific pieces of it?

b. What skills and/or education would they need to have to succeed?

c. Do you suspect that the time spent training and managing an intern to take on this role will be worth it for the final product?

2. What is on your wish list of new projects and tasks to try? For example, a new approach to an old problem or a new idea/project entirely?

a. How might an intern help you accomplish this? Might they take the lead on it? Can they get started on one part of it?

b. What tasks or responsibilities might an intern be able to free you from so that you can focus on this new project?

c. What skills and/or education would they need to have to succeed?

d. Do you suspect that the time spent training and managing an intern to take on this role will be worth it for the final product?

3. If you were in charge of educating the next generation of library leadership, what would you want them to know?

a. What are the top five things you think an intern should know about our library and/or library careers?

b. What are the top five skills you think an intern should learn in order to be prepared for a career with libraries?

You’ll notice that the word “skilled” appears here when thinking about potential proj-ects or tasks. This is because an intern is meant to be learning and growing profession-ally in their role; assigning them the “grunt” work that no one else wants to do is not only not keeping with the spirit of internships but is also likely to result in an unproductive internship (and likely an unhappy intern). In addition, your library’s reputation as a high quality place for interns to learn and grow could potentially be tarnished if interns consistently report having bad experiences there, thereby perhaps limiting your ability to attract qualified interns down the road.

Again, it is very important that you seek the opinions and ideas of staff throughout the library. Not only will this help to increase staff buy-in of the internship program and



future intern efforts as they participate and have opportunities to provide feedback on the process and work, but you’ll also likely identify potentially internship projects that you wouldn’t have otherwise considered.

Once you have a working list of potential projects or tasks, it’s time to break them down into the component parts of the work. For example:• What specific tasks and responsibilities are associated with this role or project?

• How many hours per week will it likely take an intern to do these tasks?

• Should they be full-time? Part-time?

• What training might they need to succeed? Who can provide this?

• What do they need to know coming into the position that training and orientation likely won’t cover?

• What resources will they need to do this work? Keep in mind that this can range from financial resources to having a place (and a computer with which) to work.

• Who is available to supervise an intern in this role? How much time will this likely take?

• Are you open to accepting interns from out of town?

• If so, can you help them find accommodations?

• Are any of these projects amenable to finding online interns? This can be an especially good option for libraries located in rural areas and/or far from universities.

• Keep in mind that many writing, research, and web-related projects can be completed from anywhere in the world, using the Internet and phone to collaborate between staff and intern

• Are these projects open to people with varying degrees of mobility or other potential physical limitations? How can we ensure that these projects are accessible to a broad pool of potential candidates?

So what are some potential library internship projects to consider? Here are just a few that other libraries have tried:• Developing programs for children, youth, and teens

• Planning and coordinating community events

• Assisting with technology and media projects, including website development/management, social media, digital collections, digital publishing, and systems administration

• Archiving and digitizing library materials, including converting files and encoding

• Assisting with ongoing library tasks and programs like cataloging, references, instruction, collection development/management, weeding, circulation, Summer reading programs, book clubs, storytime programs, after-school mentoring/tutoring/homework help

Identifying Projects and Roles

Ready to start answering the questions we’ve asked in this section? See the appen-dix section of this toolkit for a printable list of questions.


• Designing and delivering internal trainings for staff on topics like effective social media and conducting outreach to diverse communities

• Designing marketing and outreach materials – from blogs to newsletters

• Conducting assessment and research projects on topics like working with special needs patrons, distance education tools, and community needs

• Assisting with fundraising and grant writing

• Developing research and subject guides

• Creating videos and photography to exhibit or supplement library materials and programs

Keep in mind that many internships may be structured as a combination of several types of projects. For example, you might have an intern whose main responsibility is conducting a community needs assessment of youth programs but who, during their internship, will also assist with collection development, storytime activities, and identify-ing potential funders for future programs per their research.

Internship Position Descriptions

So how should your internship position description be structured? Here are some key elements to consider including in your internship position description:• Basic information about your library (size, staffing, communities served, current

programs, etc.)

• Context of the work within the library. (for example: “every month, our Youth Department serves 3000 young people who use the library for everything from researching school projects to receiving homework assistance to learning about new technologies in community workshops”)

• Internship project details, including:

• Specific tasks of this internship position

• What skills and education are required

• What skills and education are preferred

• What training will be provided

• Where and when the project takes place, including work environment and culture

• Who the intern will work with and report to

• Length of project/time commitment and schedule

• Importance of the internship, including how interns are important to the overall work of your library

• Benefits to the intern, including how they will personally and professionally learn and grow in this position. Also be sure to explicitly state whether this intern is paid or unpaid.

• Educational opportunities for interns at or via your library (we’ll talk more about these in Chapter 7)

A Template for Internship Position Descriptions

Once you are ready to start crafting your internship position descriptions, visit the appendix section of this toolkit; you’ll find an Internship Position Description template for your use there.


• Finally, your position description should provide information on the application process, including a formal application and contact information

Overall, try to be as descriptive, thorough, and realistic as possible when crafting your position description. The more accurate the description, the better your chances that both the intern and the library will be happy.

A quick Internet search will turn up several examples and templates of internship posi-tion descriptions that you can emulate; you’ll also find several examples on our website at http://libraryinterns.blogspot.com. An internship position description template can also be found in the appendix of this toolkit. Do consider starting with existing volun-teer position descriptions used by your library and expanding out from there, using a similar format but incorporating more of the information listed above.

Internship Applications

The next few things you’ll want to develop are an internship application form and an internship contract or agreement. The application form can be as simple or as complex as you’d like for it to be, although there are a few key questions that you’ll likely want to ask all interns:• Basic contact information

• Current academic affiliation (if relevant), including major/degree program, year in the program, university internship requirements, etc.

• Educational background to date

• Professional/work background to date, including any previous experience working in and with libraries

• Skills and abilities (for example, second language aptitude)

• Availability for internship, including length and any requirements re: schedule

• Why they are interested in this particular internship? For example, what do they hope to gain from the experience? What do they hope to learn?

• Contact information for two or three professional references (for example, professors in their department and/or colleagues in their field)

Finally, consider asking applicants to submit written questions related to the internship opportunity, their relevant skills and experience, and their career objectives. Their an-swers to these questions may give you further insight into their goals and expectations for an internship (as well as offer a sample of their writing should the internship require strong writing skills). Examples of written questions to consider include:

1. What are some of the skills that you hope to learn/sharpen during this internship?

2. What is your ideal work environment?

a. Give examples if necessary: do you prefer receiving specific instructions

An Internship Application Template

Please see the appendix section of this toolkit for a customizable template of an internship application form.



and steps or are you more interested in crafting your own approach, do you prefer working in a collaborative environment with lots of stimuli or in an uninterrupted quiet space, etc.

3. What aspects of the library system interest you the most? What areas would you most like to learn about?

4. What role do you see the library playing in the 21st Century? What vision do you have for the future potential of libraries?

5. How has the library played an important role in your life?

6. Describe a particularly meaningful personal or professional experience.

7. Describe a professional challenge you faced and how you dealt with it.

Internship Agreement

An internship agreement serves both as a written understanding of the internship – from both the intern’s and the library’s perspective – as well as foundational document for managing internship progress and expectations. Some of the elements you might consider including in an internship agreement include:• Internship title

• Key internship tasks/deliverables/responsibilities

• Agreed-upon length of internship

• Acknowledgement that the internship is unpaid and is in adherence with federal, state, and/or local labor laws

• Mutually agreed-upon expectations of the intern and the hosting library; for example, as de facto representatives of the library, interns will treat members of the public with professional courtesy and respect (NOTE: these types of expectations can be pulled from existing human resources and/or volunteer engagement documents as well as from the rights and responsibilities discussed in the following section on internship handbooks)

This document should be read by each party, discussed in person (or over the phone for online internships), and then signed to indicate agreement. Keep in mind, however, that this will almost certainly not be considered a legal document or agreement; rather, this is an informal written understanding of the professional relationship into which all parties will soon be entering.

You’ll find a template and example applications and internship agreements in appen-dices of this toolkit as well as on our website at http://libraryinterns.blogspot.com. Many examples can also be found by searching for “internship application” and “internship agreement” on search engines like Google.com.

Internship Handbook

One last document you might want to create to prepare for future interns is an intern-ship handbook. Similar to handbooks created for new staff members or volunteers, this can serve as an introduction to the library, the role of interns as part of the library team,



and the rights and responsibilities of interns. This handbook can also serve an introduc-tory guide to the internship program for future participating staff. Some of the things you might want to include will be:• A brief history of the library

• A snapshot overview of communities served by the library, current programs, library hours and locations, staffing hierarchy, etc.

• A brief history of interns at the library

• Frequently asked questions (for example, where can I park? Who do I talk to when I have a scheduling conflict? Where are some good places to eat lunch nearby?)

• Human resources policies and procedures, as well as ethical expectations, that might apply to interns; for example, issues of confidentiality, intellectual property, safety and security, and dress code

You might also include information on internship and library rights and responsibilities. These might include such things as the library offering educational opportunities and being clear about internship tasks and expectations as well as the intern discussing proj-ect progress and communicating questions and concerns to their supervisor or other staff persons.

Again, keep in mind that these types of rights and responsibilities can build upon any existing rights and responsibilities crafted by your library for paid staff or volunteers. One example, specifically designed for volunteers, can be found online at Idealist.org here: http://www.idealist.org/info/Volunteer/Rights.

To get started on your internship handbook, talk to fellow staff members who are responsible for hiring/training paid staff and volunteers to see what if any kinds of handbooks might already exist. You can then expand upon these and/or tai-lor information for an intern audience as needed. Again, you might also do a quick web search for example and template internship handbooks; one example avail-able online, developed by the Center for Sacramento History, can be found at http://www.cityofsacramento.org/ccl/history/pdf/volunteer/Handbook.pdf.

Additional examples can be found on our website at http://libraryinterns.blogspot.com. l


http://www.idealist.org/info/Volunteer/Rights

http://www.cityofsacramento.org/ccl/history/pdf/volunteer/Handbook.pdf




Chapter 4: Finding Interns

Once you have a basic internship program infrastructure in place, you are ready to begin finding appropriate interns for your available projects and roles. This chapter of the toolkit will cover some of the steps and strategies for ensuring a deep pool of applicants from which to select the best candidate for your position.

Who is Your Audience?

Before you begin doing any kind of recruitment for potential interns, it is important that you consider who your primary audience is. For example, if the internship position in question is one that requires applicants to already have an informed understanding of library and library environments, you’ll likely want to target your re-cruitment efforts to students in library science programs. However, if you are seeking someone with a strong technology background, your ideal intern could also come from other undergraduate or graduate programs (for example, computer science) or even a skilled professional seeking to do an internship as part of career transition or exploration.

Here are a few additional audiences you might recruit from outside of an academic library sciences setting, depending on the nature of the roles that need to be filled: • Educators: From ESL to reading skills to citizenship classes, interns with skills and

experience in education can be engaged in the planning, design, and delivery of information in classroom and tutorial experiences. Interns with education backgrounds can also not only deliver educational services but improve on existing programs, codify delivery methods, and document new approaches and resources for future use.

• SocialJustice: Given many libraries’ roles in programs such as those serving incarcerated communities, direct experiential work with prisoners could appeal to a range of social justice professionals with backgrounds in such areas as social work, political science, law, and criminal justice. These professionals might also be interested in working to improve and build upon programs serving other marginalized populations such as local immigrant communities.

• CreativeandPerformingArts: Singers, storytellers, performers, and other professionals in the arts are a natural audience for interning in the myriad of year-round performance opportunities at the library. Photographers and videographers can help to capture stories within the library as well as add to


F Determine your audience for recruiting potential interns

F Decide if you will seek interns year-round or during specific recruitment windows

F Identify where you will advertise for interns

F Craft recruitment messages and/or materials

F Consider developing a partnership with a university or college



and develop new mediums for community learning such as podcasts, online videos, and webisodes.

• LiberalArts: Looking to develop a new program or community event that links literature and learning or reading and local history? Historians, English majors, anthropologists, sociologists, and other students and professionals in liberal arts can be natural fits for many internship opportunities within library environments. Many liberal arts students are also expected to be strong writers, a skill that comes in handy for a myriad of tasks and responsibilities

Keep in mind that the right intern for the role may not be a student currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program. Many young, mid-career, and even retired professionals seek out internships as an opportu-nity to explore or transition into a new or encore career. In addition, if your library is located in a remote com-munity and/or is far from the closest university, you may have better luck recruiting interns from the local com-munity than just from university programs.

To get started, take a look at each of the internship posi-tion descriptions that you crafted in Chapter 3 and ask yourself the following questions:

1. Who is the ideal candidate for this internship? For example, what skills, education, or experience should they have?

2. Where might I find these candidates? Consider whether they might be a currently enrolled student (undergraduate or graduate, library sciences or other academic program) or a lifelong learner (recent graduates, young professionals, mid-career professionals, retirees)?

Recruiting Periods

Before you determine how you want to recruit potential interns, you’ll want to consider when you will seek and/or accept applications for new internships. Many libraries cur-rently seek and accept interns on a year-round, often ad hoc basis. This may be the best system for your library as it provides flexibility for you to create, recruit, and host interns as needed throughout the year.

However, some libraries might want to consider instead creating a pre-determined re-cruitment window within which they accept and recruit internships; this is especially the case for libraries that currently receive many applications from interested interns throughout the year and/or have a very small staff for internship program management. Some additional reasons for choosing this methodology might include limiting the influx of applications to one application deadline (thus potentially providing staff with one pool of applicants from which to choose the most appropriate candidates), conduct-ing internship recruitment/screening/ training/etc. to one or few periods or sessions as

Internships or Skilled Volunteer Roles?

As discussed in Chapter 1, there are some key differences between an internship and a skilled volunteer position. For example, internships are more likely to have a finite start and end date, be structured around the completion of a particular project, and – most importantly – to be inextricably linked to the intern’s learning objectives. While you should, where appropriate, consider recruiting candidates from outside academic environments – again, there are many skilled non-students who can successfully fulfill your internship’s requirements – you might also want to meet with whomever is respon-sible for engaging volunteers at your library to determine which projects might be bet-ter structured as a skilled volunteer role and which are better suited for a formal internship. For additional details on how interns differ from skilled volunteers, please see the table in Chapter 1.


needed (as opposed to it being an ongoing task), and offering staff an annual process for which they can brainstorm new potential projects and roles for incoming interns.

If your library decides to limit internships to a pre-determined recruitment window, you may first want to confer with local universities to determine the most appropriate window to choose. For example, if students in the closest library sciences program generally complete their internships during Spring term or semester, then it may make the most sense for your library to do the same. However, don’t feel that you need to design your internship program around the university’s schedule. While doing so may provide you with the largest pool of applicants, the internship timeline should first and foremost be the best fit for your library’s needs.

Where should I look?

Once you have an idea for the who and when of recruitment, you’ll be ready for the where. Here are three general strategies for internship recruitment to consider (a quick note: consider meeting and/or partnering with any staff or volunteers responsible for library volunteer recruitment before beginning your recruitment process as they can likely assist with what recruitment language and locations have been effective for find-ing volunteers from the community.)

When determining the amount of time and energy to put into recruitment, bear in mind that, while online recruitment can reach a wide audience, it may not be as effec-tive in targeting candidates with very specific skill sets. However, if you are specific about what you are seeking in your outreach language, as well as thoughtful about where you post your message, chances are good that it will find its way to many quali-fied candidates.

Online and Print OutreachIf you plan to post your internship position in and on online and print sources, you’ll need to first craft a recruitment message. Keep this message brief but informative (you can always direct them to the full position description for more information) as well

So what might this look like? For a library operating a Summer internship pro-gram, the planning process (while ideally going on throughout the year) might look something like this:• January/February: Complete internal needs assessment to determine roles

and projects for incoming interns

• March: Develop position descriptions + begin recruitment

• April: Complete recruitment + screen/interview applicants

• May/June: Internship(s) begin, including training + orientation

• July: Internships ongoing

• August/September: Internships completed + evaluated

• October/November/December: Make improvements to internship program per evaluations


as ideally eye-catching. Focus on telling them what the internship is, the specifics of the role (paid vs. unpaid, length of internship, title, and some key responsibilities or deliverables) as well as how this internship will ben-efit them and the library. Again, consider meeting with those who do volunteer recruitment for your library to discuss what types of language have been effective for recruiting library volunteers from the community as well as which venues are the most successful for attracting tal-ent. You might also meet with contacts at local colleges and universities to discuss effective strategies for best connecting with potential student applicants.

If you plan to do your recruitment face-to-face, use your recruitment message to craft a few key talking points. If you only had 30 seconds to tell someone about intern-ships at your library, what would you say?

Once you have recruitment message and speaking points ready to go, here are a few places to consider getting the word out:

• Local or regional colleges, universities, and community colleges:

• Library science departments and/or listservs (MLIS, GSLIS, etc.)

• Other appropriate departments and/or listservs (for example, computer science for technology-focused internships)

• Campus internship coordinators (if applicable)

• Career services offices

• Alumni associations

• Campus newspapers

• Libraries

• Internship fairs, career fairs, open house events, etc.

• Engagement organizations and websites:

• Local volunteer centers

• Local service clubs and business associations

• Websites like Idealist.org, VolunteerMatch, or Craigslist

• Community programs and networks:

• County, city, state, and other government websites

• Job networking groups

• Job placement/training programs and services

• Faith groups

• Professional events like career and job fairs

• Community events like literary festivals, author readings, sports events, and home improvement expos

Sample Recruitment Message

“Do you love libraries? Are you interested in developing or exploring a library career? We are seeking a motivated, skilled, and enthu-siastic individual to join the [Name of Library] team as a Marketing and Communications Intern this summer. This unpaid internship will offer a unique opportunity to develop new outreach materials for our diverse audi-ences as well as guide staff and volunteers in exploring the latest social media and other communications mediums - all while help-ing to get the word out on library programs and services in our community. To learn more about this position, including respon-sibilities, time commitment, and application procedures, please visit our website at [web address].”


• Local newspaper or other job boards (online and print)

• Professional networks:

• Retired professionals

• Nonprofit or public professionals

• Library-specific networks:

• Friends of the Library, Library Foundation, advisory boards, other

• Don’t forget your library’s website!

Overall, your goal should be to seek as broad a pool of diverse, qualified applicants as possible, so choose your medium strategically and then start getting the word out!

Finally, be sure to engage current staff and volunteers in the recruitment process. Where do they volunteer, learn, connect, worship? Ask them to help spread the word to others and benefit from their long-term rela-tionships throughout the community

Developing Academic PartnershipsGiven the focus on experiential learning outcomes for interns, partnerships with academic institutions can often serve as one of the most fruitful bridges to qualified in-tern candidates. It is therefore not a coincidence that many traditional internship mod-els focus on building and maintaining partnerships with academic institutions.

Your first step here is to identify what local or regional colleges, universities, and/or community colleges could be ideal partners for your library internship program. Start with geography but don’t rule out those programs that might be farther away; indeed, many universities with MLIS/GSLIS programs actively seek partnerships with libraries around the region, country, or even world who are able to provide high quality intern-ships for their students.

When considering academic partnerships, consider connecting both with relevant departments (for example, library sciences) and with any existing career services de-partment, campus internship coordinators, or other service learning departments in the institution. According to the “Employer’s Guide to Building a Quality Internship Program” by UNLV Career Services, here are a few things to explore as you consider these potential partnerships:• What majors/disciplines might be most appropriate for your library’s

opportunities?

• Per department, major, and discipline, what kinds of responsibilities, roles, and projects can students fill?

• What might best motivate – personally, academically, and professionally – a student from a given discipline? What might they seek/gain from an internship with your library?

• Prior to beginning an internship, what courses, skills, and experiences would be

Stay Connected with Former Interns

Don’t forget to seek and incorporate former interns into your recruitment process. For example, if you are recruiting at a community job fair, can one or two former interns join you there? Are former interns available to speak about their experience at your library to potential student interns in their own univer-sity programs – perhaps as part of a univer-sity event or at the start of a relevant class period? Consider how you might engage former interns as ambassadors and partners in recruitment of the next class of interns.


most helpful for an intern to complete?

• What other types of service learning opportunities does the university or college offer? For example, do they offer credit for summer internships in other cities or states? Do they promote and highlight these opportunities?

• What specific learning objectives should the library plan to provide for these interns? Are there existing university or college requirements for intern experiential learning?

Be prepared that partnering with a university or college may mean that you will need to adhere to university or college-specific requirements or program deliverables; these might include completing and filing specific pa-perwork and forms for the intern, providing a specific type or amount of professional development training to the intern, or perhaps even using the university or col-lege’s own evaluation materials at the end of the student’s term. While for some libraries, these requirements are not at all a burden – and in fact may even be a blessing given that they provide pre-designed infrastructure and forms such as applications and evaluations – for others they may be an unwelcome set of rules to follow. Discuss what if any requirements your potential university or col-lege partner might have before deciding to work with them for the long-term. l

Managing Incoming Applications

You might consider creating (or asking your library’s technical team to create) an email address just for accepting internship applica-tions. You should also craft a short auto-reply message that thanks them for their applica-tion, letting them know that you will get back to them within a certain number of days – or by a certain date – with next steps. Finally, consider crafting acceptance and rejection responses for applicants; these can be built from existing human resources or volunteer letters. For examples of these notes and auto-reply text, see the Appendix.




Chapter 5: Screening and Selection

Once you have a pool of potential applicants to consider for your available internships, the critical work of screening and selection begins. This is arguably one of the most important steps in the process: with proper screening and selection, you’ll be able to find a great fit between intern and library needs and expectations. Should this step be skipped, however, you may end up with a poor fit, satisfying no one’s goals and objectives and unfortunately wasting time in the process (especially as this means you’d likely need to start the process of recruitment over again or forego hosting an intern in the desired role).

This doesn’t mean that screening and selection must be arduous though. Think of it instead as three steps to due diligence: screening, interviewing, and matching.

Screening

You’ve already gathered key screening information during the application process, in-cluding previous experience, educational background, professional references, and re-sponses to written questions. You should then formally begin the screening process by reviewing these materials and determining if their skills and experience appear to be a good fit for the internship role or project in question.

Keep in mind that many intern candidates are still learn-ing their professional craft and so will likely not have the same level of professional experience you might expect from candidates for paid library positions. Instead, give extra attention to the types of coursework they have taken, academic accomplishments they have achieved, or community and extracurricular activities. At the same time, you may also receive applicants who appear to be overqualified for the role, especially where these ap-plicants are mid-career professionals or professionals in career transition. For these candidates, bear in mind that the internship would be primarily about gathering new skills and experiences, so the weight of consideration should go to what they are hoping to learn during the internship as well as how their existing skills might make them appropriate for the role.


F Review and screen applications

F Complete background checks (where needed)

F Interview promising applicants

F Contact applicant references

F Determine whether/how to engage an applicant


Criminal Background Screening

Do you need to conduct a criminal back-ground screening of your intern candidates? The answer to this question likely depends on several issues. For example, will this intern be working one-on-one with vulnerable popula-tions such as children or people with devel-opmental disabilities? To determine whether you need to conduct this additional level of formal screening, talk to your peers in Human Resources and/or volunteer management to learn more about what if any legal or ethical rules or guidelines the library already has in place for bringing on new personnel. You might also seek guidance from the library’s legal counsel or advisor on this issue.


A quick note: in many cases, screening in tandem with academic partners can offer a distinct advantage. Service learning, career services, and academic departments can serve as a first step in the screening process by referring from their internal pool of applicants who might best match up with your library internship needs. Indeed, they should generally know more about both the student’s strengths and interests as well as the particular strengths of the department in which they are studying. Having an external partner directing qualified, well-matched applicants toward a library internship can potentially be a huge timesaver for you and your staff. This partnership is also important if you need a last minute intern as schools can often direct qualified people your way more quickly and easily.

Interviewing

Once you have one or more individuals who appear to be qualified for the position, you are ready to move on to the next step of this three part process: interviewing.

Interviews should ideally be conducted face-to-face; where this isn’t possible – for ex-ample, when the student would be moving to your library’s community specifically to do the internship or the internship is primarily web-based – consider using web-based technology with a video component such as Skype.

The purpose of the interview is twofold. First, you will be seeking more in-depth answers to questions about the candidate, their goals and expectations, and how they might best fit with your internship needs. Second, you’ll be learning more about how the individual com-municates, how they present themselves professionally, and how they handle stressful (although hopefully not too stressful!) situations – all good things to know, espe-cially if the intern will be interacting with the public and thus informally (or formally) representing the library.

Here are a few questions to consider asking as part of your interview process; you’ll also find this list of questions as a printable checklist in the appendix section of this toolkit: • What most appealed to you about our library?

This particular internship?• What are your future career goals? Why have you

chosen libraries as your career path?• (For students) Tell me about your degree program.

How did you choose it? How do you think it has prepared you for an internship in a library setting?

• (For non-students) Tell me about your professional experience in __ field. How will these experiences and skills potentially benefit an internship in a library setting?

• Tell me about your experience with [one or more specific skills required to succeed in the internship].

• What would you most like to learn from an internship? What would you most like to experience?

• What do you consider to be your greatest strengths (for example, writing,

Signs of the Over-Committed

Sometimes the most attractive candidate stands out because they have a stellar set of skills, experiences, and current responsibili-ties. So how can you make sure that you don’t choose the intern who – despite their enthusiasm and assurances that they won’t take on too much – will need to cut back on their responsibilities once things get too busy? The best way to approach this is to offer candidates ways to self-identify their own availability and provide them with clear, realistic expectations of the internships time commitment. For example, being clear with expectations for hours expected each week, appropriate schedules, length of internship, and any deadlines or timelines associated with internship deliverables should help to serve as a good first step to give candidates a realistic picture of what they are agreeing to should they decide to serve in the internship.


research, having a long-term vision, attention to detail, etc.)? How might these lend to and/or be strengthened by this internship?

• What would you consider to be your greatest challenges? How might this internship help you to address these challenges?

• What is your availability for the internship: when can you start, how long can you stay, what type of schedule might you be available for, etc.?

• Is there anything else that you would like for us to know about your qualifications for this internship?

• Do you have any questions for me today?

Don’t forget to include the staff person who will be most responsible for supervising this intern in the interview process. After all, the most successful internships are of-ten first and foremost about positive relationships and no one will be more involved in day-to-day relationship building with an intern than their future supervisor. In addition, engaging staff peers in the selection process can help to increase the level of investment those staff members have both in the success of the individual in-tern as well as the overall program.

Following interviews, contact references for your most promising candidates in order to learn more about their strengths and weaknesses; you’ll find a References Interview template that you can use for this activity in the appendix section of this toolkit. Questions to ask might include: 1) what do you consider to be this per-son’s strongest skills and qualities?; 2) what might you consider to be their greatest challenge or weakness?; 3) Describe a situation in which you have seen this per-son excel. What was most impressive?; and 4) In what type of role do you think they might most thrive as an intern?

Matching

The third step in your screening and selection process is to identify your most qualified applicants and match them to your available internships. Ideally this will con-sist of matching a qualified intern with the internship po-sition for which they have applied. However, in some cases – for example, if you received applications from two quality candidates for one position and you’d like to engage them both – you might consider offering a different position to an applicant.

DIY Candidates

Chances are good that you’ve had individuals approach your library in the past with the inter-est of securing an internship – only it wasn’t in response to one of your recruitment efforts. For example, perhaps they happened to be on your website and think it could use a tune-up, so they have approached you to see if you’ll take them on as an intern to do so. What do you do in these situations?

Don’t panic. Instead, just add two preliminary steps to the screening and selection process described above. First, ask them to craft a detailed outline for the internship position they have in mind. What would the goals be? What kind of timeline would they have in mind? What resources would they need? Once they have this ready, take a look and as-sess it much as you would your internal wish list of potential internship tasks and projects. Is this project something you need? Some-thing the library could benefit from? Run it by relevant staff. In the case of the website example, does the Director of Technology agree that it makes sense? Also, does the staff person have the time to manage this intern? If so, then you might have the makings for a good internship on your hands.

If the answer is no, then be sure to commu-nicate your gratitude to them for sharing their idea with the library. Let them know that you would like to keep them in mind for a future internship on this topic should it become a priority. In the meantime, they are welcome to apply for any of the existing internship (or vol-unteer) opportunities that have already been created; they might also pitch their idea to your library’s volunteer coordinator as an indepen-dent volunteer project.

The goal here is to not succumb to the desire to create something for everyone who comes in with an idea or a desire to help. Instead, put the responsibility for making the case for the internship project or role back on them and, should it seem like a good fit for your library, then have them go through the same screen-ing, interviewing, and matching process that you’ll conduct for all of your other candidates. If a mutually beneficial fit is not the outcome, you can always help direct them to other organizational partners to ensure that they are supported in finding opportunities to serve that best suit their skills and interests.


Include both the person responsible for the overall intern-ship program as well as the potential supervisor in the de-cision-making and matching process. Also, keep in mind how you will balance your opinions on candidates. For example, can you ask people to rank their first, second, or third choices of candidates for the position? Again, con-sider talking to your peers in human resources for models to emulate.

When making your decision, consider the personal and professional interests of the intern (particularly ways in which they want to grow), their skills, strengths, and experi-ences, and their work style (work environment, supervi-sion, goal-setting, etc.) alongside the opportunities you have available. Again, remember that while a personality fit with their supervisor is imperative for success, if you feel the opportunity is ideal for a candidate but there could be a potential work style clash with that position’s supervi-sor, there are also ways to cross-mentor (we’ll discuss these kinds of strategies in Chapter 8).

When you’re ready to make the decision about which intern for which position, consider the following three criteria:

Intern’s Expectations: F Based on the intern’s application and subsequent interview, as well as their individual goals, learning objectives, desired skill acquisitions, networking opportunities, work styles, passions, and planned professional next steps, is our internship an appropriate opportunity for this candidate?

Library Needs: F Given the skills required to be successful, learning and achievement objectives of the project, and management style of supervisory staff, is this the “right” candidate for our internship needs?

A Question of Fit: Will this intern be a good fit with their future supervisor? Do they seem like they will fit in well with the library’s organizational culture? A good internship should be an appropriate fit of intern goals and skills, library needs and expectations, and how well the intern fits in with existing organizational culture. For example, if your library environment tends to be a serious place, a candidate with a penchant for practi-cal jokes may not fit well. Alternatively, if the atmosphere is lively and interpersonal, a candidate seeking minimal human interaction may have a more difficult time fitting in and thus learning and accomplishing as much. These are all subjective criteria so they shouldn’t be deal breakers, rather just factors to consider. l

What Should You Do When You Don’t Find a Great Fit?

While in a perfect scenario, you’ll have a number of applicants from which to choose, it is possible that you’ll receive only one application for your internship position. So what should you do if the applicant seems unqualified or otherwise not an ideal fit for the position? In some cases, you might consider giving them a chance anyway – it will cer-tainly be a good learning opportunity for the intern as well as a way to hone and sharpen management skills for intern supervisors internally. However, if it seems as though you will likely spend more time training or super-vising the intern than the project is worth – or if you have sincere doubts that the candidate has the ability or know-how to do the work at hand – don’t be afraid to say no. You can always recruit for the position again down the road, all while avoiding the potential negative experience that might otherwise result from a poor fit of skills, goals and interests. In the meantime, you might consider referring the individual to a skilled volunteer opportunity at your library instead of the internship.




Chapter 6: Training Interns

Once you have selected your intern candidate, you’re ready to begin the training pro-cess, beginning with orientation. This should take place on the first day of the intern-ship with the goal of providing the new intern with a broad snapshot of the library, its programs, and internal systems.

Orientation

Orientation can serve as a formal group session pre-sented by you and/or other staff to a group of more than one incoming interns. However, it can also be a one-on-one discussion of information and facts. Either way, there are some core components that should be incorporated into any orientation, including the follow-ing (please note that a checklist of these components can be found in the appendix section of this toolkit):• A brief introduction to the history and mission of

the library;

• An overview of the library’s structure, from broader staff hierarchies to (if relevant) how it fits into a larger organizational system such as city government, county government, or a university;

• An overview of the library’s current educational and community programs and services, including copies of any relevant materials such as newsletters or program guides;

• A mental – or even physical – map of the library and neighboring community, including information on where their work station is, where the bathrooms are, where they can take breaks, and good places to grab a bite to eat;

• Library policies and procedures, including risk management strategies –

• Including what to do (and who to call) in case of emergency – and how to best represent the library to members of the public and/or media;

• Any internal jargon or acronyms that they might want or need to learn;

• Dress and behavior expectations of library team members;

Be certain to help them get settled into their new workstation, as well including securing any supplies or resources they might need – from a desk lamp to an email address (as well as how to login and who to ask if they run into technical questions).


F Develop an in-person or online orientation for incoming interns

F Provide orientation to new interns

F Discuss and review internship expectations, goals, and deliverables

F Develop and/or find relevant trainings for new interns

F Facilitate training of new interns

F Consider offering training to staff internally



You should also send a welcome announcement out to all staff and volunteers, announcing the intern’s arrival to the team. Similarly, whenever possible, walk the intern around the library on their first day to help familiarize them with their new work environment as well as intro-duce them to current staff and volunteers, especially library leadership and those with whom the intern will be working on a regular basis. This will help to make the interns feel welcome as well as to begin placing faces with names, while also making staff aware that the intern has *officially* joined the team. In short, your role in this process is to help facilitate the beginning of their professional relationship with others in the library.

One more important thing to do as part of their first day orientation is to set the tone for the internship by having an honest discussion about expectations and project spe-cifics. This can include such things as:• Personal and professional expectations of the

intern;

• Goals and expectations of the library and supervisor;

• College and/or university expectations or requirements (if relevant);

• Experiential learning and professional development options and objectives (see Chapter 7);

• Work styles and mutually agreed-upon communications, supervision, and feedback methods (see Chapter 8);

• Project goals, objectives, timeline, and deliverables.

Note that all of this should already have been discussed during the internship recruit-ment and selection processes – for example, as part of the internship position descrip-tion and internship agreement paperwork – so it shouldn’t be the first time the conver-sation is had. However, revisiting these topics will help to establish a collaborative tone for the internship from the very first day.

Training

Where orientation is often a global picture of the library and the role of interns within it, training should focus more specifically on the tools, systems, and skills required for the intern to succeed in their role. In short, training covers the nuts and bolts of what the intern will do in the course of their internship project or role.

In addition to project/role-specific trainings – for exam-ple, going over the basics of doing collection develop-

Online Orientation

While orientation should ideally take place face-to-face, you can also offer orientation via the Internet for interns who might be com-pleting their internship with your library online. For example, you might use a free video con-ferencing service like Skype as well as share documents in advance with them via email.

Free Web-Based Trainings Available!

Looking for introductory trainings on customer service, intellectual freedom, reference inter-views, youth programs, or project planning? As part of the development of this toolkit, we have also created web-based trainings on these very topics. To review as well as poten-tially offer these trainings to your future interns, please visit the Multnomah County Library website at http://libraryinterns.blogspot.com.

Establishing Expectations

See the appendix section of this toolkit for a list of suggestions for establishing great (yet realistic) intern and library expectations from day one. You’ll find a template for creating internship agreements there as well.



ment or assisting with references – there are also a few universal library subjects that you might want to cover via trainings for your interns; these can include:• Communications and community outreach

• Customer service basics

• Intellectual freedom

• Open Access / Access to information

• Project/Program design, development, and management

• Serving vulnerable populations

• Serving youth

For a printable list of these training topics, please see the appendix section of this tool-kit.

For those trainings that you might be developing for the first time, keep in mind that your students may know a bit about the topic – for example, collection develop-ment and management – but may not yet have hands-on experience doing the task. As explained by Messiah College and the Technology Council of Central Pennsyl-vania in their guide “Starting and Maintaining a Quality Internship Program”: “Many students are unfamiliar with the activities, environment and objectives of [library en-vironments]. Even though your interns may have worked part-time to support their education, these experiences may not have exposed them to organizational politics, the need for confidentiality, the importance of team-work, or the orientation of an organization. It is this ori-entation and training dimension of the internship experi-ence that emphasizes the partnership role of the [host library].”

Also, keep in mind that while training should always be offered at the start of an in-ternship, interns should have access to ongoing training and/or supervision as needed throughout their term of service. We will explore this in great depth in the next chapter.

Looking for examples of orientation-training models? Consider checking out some of those highlighted in “Public Library Internships: Advice from the Field,” edited by Cindy Mediavilla (Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2006). l

Training Staff

You might consider offering internal train-ing for fellow staff members on how to best partner with interns. For example, how might they share their expertise with an intern? This training can also be a good time to go over the definition of the internship – what an intern will and won’t do and how they differ from volunteers and staff, who is their supervisor, who the staff person should talk to if they have ideas or concerns for or about the internship, etc. – as well as appropriate behavior and boundaries between staff and interns. In short, help staff understand more clearly the role and activities of the intern as well as how they can make the most of this partnership opportunity.




Chapter 7: Facilitating Intern On-the-Job Learning

As discussed in Chapter 1, a major component of internships is access to and incorpo-ration of ongoing experiential learning and professional development for the individual intern. But what are your options for facilitating this ongoing learning?

Establishing Expectations

Start the ongoing learning process by discussing with the intern, as well as any contacts you might have at any academic institution where they might be enrolled, what expectations and/or requirements they might have. For example, is the library expected to offer a certain num-ber of formal trainings per internship? Are there spe-cific topics that are meant to be covered? Talk to the intern and ask questions such as what would they like to learn, what library roles they are most curious about, and what topics they are most hoping to delve into during their time with the library. Ideally, you’ll want to mutu-ally agree to a plan for the intern’s continued learning throughout their internship. For example, you might de-cide that the intern will complete and/or have access to at least two relevant workshops or trainings per month as part of their continued professional development.

Once you know how many and what kinds of learning opportunities the intern might be seeking – and the institution might require – you’ll be ready to explore your avail-able options.

Internal OptionsYou might consider developing and delivering internal workshops and trainings for your interns; these can be taught by various staff members, volunteers, or outside com-munity members who are willing to share their expertise. Topics can range from an informal Q&A with current staff on how they got their first paid library position to a formal workshop, facilitated by References staff, training interns on effective practices in reference interviewing.

If you have more than one intern at your library, you can also help to organize a peer-learning model where interns present workshops on topics of interest to one another. Similarly, you might help to facilitate an independent study option, assigning interesting readings or topics for them to read and discuss collectively as well as encouraging them


F Establish mutual expectations with new interns

F Develop internal professional development opportunities for interns

F Explore university-based options for intern professional development

F Identify potential community or web-based professional development options

F Mutually create plan for facilitating intern learning throughout the internship

F Facilitate intern/staff job-shadowing opportunities



to present new topics for group exploration. A quick note: if you only have one or two interns but they are affiliated with a university or college program, you might see if the university facilitates any similar type of group learning process. If not, you can always suggest it to them and/or reach out to other nearby libraries hosting interns during the same period to see if a collaborative learning effort can be launched and facilitated via conference calls and, ideally, in-person gatherings.

Lastly, one of the most valuable experiences a library intern can have is to learn from and witness firsthand the various moving parts of a library ecosystem. Therefore, if you can help set-up opportunities for interns to shadow particular roles and staff persons throughout the library – from the Library Director to departments like references or youth programs – you will be offering your interns an invaluable opportunity to ex-plore many different types of roles and careers within library environments, helping them to hone in on their key interests and career directions.

University OptionsIf your intern is a current college or university student, you might also seek to identify what if any ongoing learning opportunities the university currently offers or facilitates for its students. After all, why reinvent the wheel if high quality learning opportunities for your interns already exist?

Community and Web-Based OptionsFinally, other options for ongoing learning may take place throughout your commu-nity or online via web conferences and trainings. For example, are there résumé or career development workshops offered by a local community college, career services organization, career-focused website, or other source that might be of interest to your interns? If these training and learning opportunities require a registration fee, see if the library can potentially help pay for interns to attend and/or whether you can negotiate free registration for your unpaid interns. You might also look for free library-related webinars; one place to look for these is http://infopeople.org. l


http://infopeople.org



Chapter 8: Mentoring, Shadowing, and Supervision

Establishing a supportive environment and facilitating the development of positive in-terpersonal relationships between interns and staff will help you achieve the best pos-sible results from your internship program, both in terms of project deliverables as well as intern satisfaction. As part of this though, you’ll need to ensure that appropriate intern supervision and sup-port is interwoven throughout the program.

Who Manages the Intern?

First things first: who should primarily be responsible for managing each intern? At a minimum, you should have one staff member who is professionally responsible for supervising each intern. However, ideally, there will be enough library staff to provide two or perhaps even three professionals to oversee an intern’s experience. If this sounds unrealistic at first, that’s entirely understand-able. After all, how can you justify the time of up to three staff members for one intern? The answer is in clearly defined roles and expectations.

Here are a few potential staff supervision roles to consider implementing at your library:

Internship Program Manager: This person oversees the overall internship program. Duties might include:• Developing internship program infrastructure and materials such as application

forms and handbooks

• Gauging internal needs and potential positions for interns

• Serving as the primary person responsible for recruitment, screening, and matching

• Providing orientation to new interns (as well as support/training to staff supervisors)

• Helping mentors and supervisors understand, contribute to, and adhere to the internship program vision, goals, and objectives

• Serving as liaison with academic partners

• Serving as a neutral third party when resolving conflicts between a supervisor and an intern

• Ensuring that interns have access to and opportunities for ongoing professional


F Determine ongoing internship management roles

F Assign management roles per individual internship

F Prepare for the first supervisor/mentor meeting with a new intern

F Mutually determine communications/check in methods with the intern

F Develop a plan or series of steps to take in the event of conflict

F Talk to human resources staff persons about how and when to let an intern go



learning (including potentially facilitating internal learning opportunities)

• If necessary, supervising library interns themselves (in this case, responsibility for conflict mediation would go to another staff member)

• Monitoring intern program evaluation and spearheading improvement efforts

Intern Manager/Supervisor: This library staff member oversees the individual intern’s experience. Duties might include:• Working with the Internship Program Manager

to assess needs and potential internship projects and roles

• Contributing information to help craft comprehensive internship position descriptions and recruitment messages in order to attract qualified candidates

• Participating in internship candidate interviews (perhaps also application screening)

• Providing training for the intern’s specific project tasks and responsibilities

• Supervising the intern on a daily basis (more on this later in this chapter)

• Potentially facilitating internal learning opportunities

• Evaluating the intern’s work throughout and upon completion of the internship as well as sharing results with the Internship Program Manager

• Writing recommendations for formerly supervised interns

Intern Mentor: Often, the mentor and the supervisor are the same person. However, it can also be beneficial to enlist other staff from either the same or different departments to serve as additional mentors. Bear in mind that mentoring does not have to be a daily activity. For example, a mentor can:• Meet with an intern every few weeks for a cup of coffee, a meal, or a walk.

• Serve as an informational interviewee

• Invite an intern to shadow them during a meeting or community event

• Invite the intern to professional networking events and introduce them to other library staff and community partners.

Keep in mind that you may also partner with individuals outside the library to recruit and manage interns. For example, if working with an academic partner, the person most responsible for facilitating internships from that school may also be an active partner in your supervisory process. This person’s responsibilities might include: • Promoting your library’s internships among their students

• Helping to identify and screen potential applicants

• Ensuring that the library internship program adheres to the requirements of

Internship Programs Are Not One-Size-Fits-All

Feeling overwhelmed by the suggested roles and responsibilities we’ve listed here? Don’t worry. Instead, just keep in mind that your internship program can be as big or as small, as formal or as informal, as you’d like for it to be – or as your library is currently capable of sustaining. If you’re concerned about your internal capacity to manage interns and need to skip some of the suggested staff roles or duties described here, just keep them in mind as possibilities should your internship program formalize or expand in the future. In the meantime, consider revisiting the section on potential staffing models in Chapter 3 for suggestions on how you might share and delegate responsibility among existing staff, volunteers, and interns.


the academic program (for example, systems for documenting hours, providing written feedback, applying experiential learning techniques, etc.)

• Potentially serving as a neutral third party for such things as conflict resolution and providing an outside perspective on program improvements

• Assisting the Internship Program Manager and Intern Supervisors during program review and training in best practices.

A variation on this role might be what you’d call a community partner liaison; this might include individuals involved in such community entities as job-training programs (ca-reer coaches and others who manage a pool of clients) and civic engagement groups (business, neighborhood, and community groups). While these liaisons are not moni-toring the academic requirements of an internship experience, they can be beneficial in the other roles such as helping to get the word out on upcoming internships as well as providing additional opportunities for professional development learning and mentorship.

Support, Supervision, and Communication

Whether the roles discussed above are fulfilled by one staff member or several, the responsibilities of each position will likely be complementary. For example, the primary role of the supervisor is to ensure that the learning ob-jectives for the intern and program goals for the library are met and that all necessary reporting (both from the intern and the supervisor) is completed. Simultaneously, the primary role of a mentor is to facilitate the experien-tial learning process for the intern, a key component of a successful internship program. This section of the toolkit will discuss strategies and characteristics of high quality internship supervision and communications.

Qualities of Good Supervisors and Good MentorsA good supervisor is there to do such things as answer questions, manage schedules, supportively enforce goals and deadlines, and share knowledge. A good mentor is there primarily to share expertise, serve as a sounding board, and encourage growth. Both individuals should ideally possess such characteristics as:• Strong interpersonal skills

• Credibility, expertise, and knowledge of their field

• A genuine interest in being a role model

• Teaching or training experience

• Patience

• Flexibility

• Sensitivity

• Respectful and both giving and deserving of trust

• Interest in the personal and professional development of their interns

A Supervisor’s Checklist

Please see the appendix section of this toolkit for a checklist supervisors can consult before their first meeting with a new intern.


• The ability to communicate and give constructive feedback

• Organizational skills (for example, be ready for interns when they arrive, keep them engaged in their work, find new tasks and roles for them should their primary projects be completed more quickly than anticipated)

• Inclusivity (Interns like to feel wanted and included!)

• Listening skills

The First Meeting: SupervisorsThe first meeting can set the tone for an entire internship experience. This is true even if the supervisor and/or mentor was a part of the interview process (which, again, would ideally be the case). However, the interview environment and the workplace are quite different. For example, many people show up for an interview with one mindset (“please choose me!”) and the workplace with another (“how can I do my best job now that they’ve hired me?”)!

Being organized and ready for the intern’s arrival demonstrates to them that they have a reliable supervisor and encourages them to model this behavior going forward. Items for discussion might include:• Work style: What are the intern’s work preferences? What are the supervisor’s

work style preferences? Does the intern/supervisor like to work from the big picture or from a detailed to-do list? Are strict deadlines helpful or hindering? Do they motivate or create anxiety? How often should interns and supervisors check in? How should they check in (emails, short meetings, shared documents)? Keep in mind that one person’s micromanagement is another person’s idea of being attentive…

• Internship goals: As a library staff person tasked with the responsibilities of your program, what are the supervisor’s goals regarding the work of the intern? Revisit the skills, experiences, and professional experience the intern hopes to garner during their time at the library. Mutually create and agree to a timeline and key deliverables for successful completion of internship project goals and objectives.

• Feedback: How does the intern/supervisor prefer to give and receive feedback? Do they like immediate feedback or feedback during check-ins? Do they prefer written or oral feedback? Keep in mind that feedback on projects and professional-development/behavioral feedback may differ. It is usually easier to hear negative feedback on a project (more impersonal) than on how one goes about their work (more personal). Be clear at the onset how each party would like to give and receive these kinds of information.

The First Meeting: MentorsJust as the supervisory first meeting sets the stage for a positive work style, work goals, and feedback relationship, the first mentorship meeting can help to establish another very important facet of the program: experiential learning and reflection. Setting up dedicated reflection opportunities for interns can be one of the easiest and best ways to begin a mentorship experience. For example, as explained in the “Employer’s Guide to Building a Quality Internship Program” by UNLV Career Services:

http://hire.unlv.edu/pdf/employersinternship.pdf



There are a variety of ways to assist the student in reflection. Reflection can include group discussions among interns, focus groups, 1-minute writing on a particular subject or the day, and on-going journaling. You can also strengthen the mentorship by offering feedback to the journals or through periodic informal meetings such as a standing monthly lunch.

Examples of reflection questions you might pose to your interns might include:• “What did I learn today?

• What ‘best practices’ did I observe?

• What professional problem-solving did I observe?

• What did I learn not to do?

• What did I learn about myself: my strengths, my weaknesses, my likes, my dislikes, learning gaps? new courses? more experience needed?”2

The First DaysSimilar to how the first meeting can help to set the tone for the interpersonal relation-ship between interns and supervisors/mentors, the first days of an internship can set the tone for the experience as a whole. The rate and flow of first tasks can signal to the intern what they can expect in the future. For example, too much work might over-whelm them (“I can’t possibly do all this work in the time allotted without burning out!”). Conversely, too little and they may think the work will be too easy (“This is going to be boring and I’m not going to get anything useful out of the experience!”)

The organization of your program as a whole and the attention you paid to matching the right intern to the role will help the intern feel that they are going to have a posi-tive, enriching experience. Now be ready to hit the ground running these first few days. Be prepared to spend a bit of extra time with them. And don’t forget to focus on the future, looking forward from these first few days to their inevitable last few days. What do you hope to say you’ve collectively accomplished by then?

As time goes by, you’ll want the intern to feel more and more trusted in their role. Whether this means a bit less direct supervision or greater latitude to make decisions on their own is up to you (and the parameters of the internship project or role). Ulti-mately, what you want is for the intern to develop a sense of ownership of their work, all as a member of the larger library team; this will help to ensure that they give their best effort as well as gain the most possible from their internship experience.

Finally, keep in mind the following advice from Lock Haven University’s “Employer’s Manual for Internships”: “Keep the intern busy and directed towards his/her learning objectives. Students rarely complain of overwork, but they do complain if they are not challenged. Encourage professionalism by assisting the intern in developing human relation skills, decision-making abilities and managing office politics. Show how this work relates to the overall efforts of the [library].”

2. “Public Library Internships: Advice from the Field,” edited by Cindy Mediaville, p24

Facilitating Reflection

For a printable list of reflection strategies and questions, please see the appendix section of this toolkit.

“”

http://www.lhup.edu/careerservices/Internships/Employers/files/Manual.pdf



Ongoing Communications, Meetings, and Check-InsIn today’s interconnected world, there are a myriad of ways to stay connected, not to mention potentially save time in the process. This is good news because regular, mean-ingful check-ins are generally not something that can be considered optional. Rather, methods for checking in with the intern should be established on the first day of their internship and adhered to as closely as possible throughout their time with the library.

A quick note: checking in with your intern is going to take time and there is no way around that. Indeed, supervision is likely to take more time at the start of an intern’s service as well as where the position or project is tech-nically challenging or there are any safety concerns. To help quantify the value of this time investment, consider how many hours of work an intern will be able to accom-plish in exchange for what might be just minutes of your time. Done well, supervising can pay off at close to one minute of supervising for one hour of work done and that’s an equation that’s pretty tough to beat.

A few check in methods to consider might include:• Daily Check-ins: Even though daily meetings may seem more demanding on the

surface, daily check-ins can actually be one of the more efficient uses of your time. Set an outline for brief 5-10 minute meetings and, if items don’t fit into that outline, save them for email discussions or a longer weekly meeting. One possible format can include:

• A quick report on yesterday’s work: What was accomplished? What questions came up? (Note: you may not have time to answer all of their questions and that’s okay. You can always come back to these during a longer meeting).

• What’s happening today? What are the goals? What support do they need?

• Sharing updates: Do you have anything to share from a wider organizational perspective for the intern? Library news? Feedback/responses from staff connected to the intern’s work? Anything else that can help them today and going forward?

• Weekly Meetings. These 30-45 minute meetings can serve as either your primary check-in opportunity or, if you are also doing daily check-ins, offer a time to dig a bit deeper into the past week and to focus more intently on the coming week’s work. If you’re also holding short, daily meetings, these weekly meetings should flow quickly while also allowing time to discuss thinks like:

• Intern questions, ideas, or concerns

• How the intern’s work is helping the library

• Challenges, successes, strengths, and comforts

• Long-range plans

• Professional development goals and progress

• “Non-work conversation” like anecdotes, institutional questions (sharing institutional knowledge), and other discussions not focused solely on the intern’s work.

Strategies for Checking In

See the appendix section of this toolkit for a printable list of the check in strategies de-scribed in this chapter.


Both daily and/or weekly check-ins can be done via email, online shared document sites like Google Docs, or other technology mediums but there is also substantive value to face time; it can often help to limit confusion, speed up the answering of questions (and therefore the ability for an intern to proceed with their work), and, most importantly, make an intern feel like they are worth your time. That said, there are several ways to use web-based tools for communication and project management – especially if you are working primarily with online interns! – including:• Shared Documents: Google Docs and other shared, virtual workspaces are an

increasingly popular way to collaborate online. These tools allow for anyone to work on a project from anywhere with an internet connection at any time, meaning you can add ideas, contacts, and suggestions to the document for the intern to incorporate as both of your schedules allow. This is also a great way for a supervisor to check in on daily progress. Just pop over at the end of the day to see what’s been added.

• Instant Messaging: Instant messaging can be an excellent way to get quick questions answered during the course of the day. You can log on and off IM if you don’t want to be interrupted or keep it open to communicate with your intern as needed throughout the day.

• Email: Daily check-ins can sometime occur via email. As well, you can email interns new ideas, slight adjustments to schedules, to-do lists, organizational information, introductions to staff members, and other information that might be of interest.

• Calendars: If your intern has a variable schedule during their internship, online calendar sharing can be a useful tool for scheduling and aligning meeting times and other in-person gatherings.

Conflict ResolutionInterpersonal relationships are at the core of internships and, no matter how well matched interns and staff may be, conflict is often an inherent part of any relationship. While most well-designed programs staffed by well-trained professionals will ensure an overall positive experience for an intern, the best programs should also be prepared for when, not if, conflict occurs. When dealt with professionally and conscientiously – as well as with empathy (after all, most people don’t aspire to deliver poor quality work) – conflict can lead to both better working conditions as well as overall internship program improvements.

A quick note: Regular, honest check-ins and establishing a supportive, respectful envi-ronment can often be the first line of defense against full-blown conflict. Establishing at the beginning of an internship experience that weekly check-ins are a good place to freely and openly address difficulties is essential to creating an open dialogue. Con-sider offering supervisors and mentors access to training and tools for basic conflict resolution and negotiation to ensure they know how to appropriately handle challeng-ing circumstances.

An important part of any conflict resolution is the involvement of a neutral third party – not the intern, not the supervisor, and, ideally, not even a staff member from the library.

Conflict Resolution Strategies

For a printable list of potential conflict reso-lution strategies, please see the appendix section of this toolkit.


This could potentially be someone from the intern’s college or university or a community member from a conflict resolution or similar type of organization. If a third party from outside the library cannot be secured, the Internship Program Manager and/or staff per-sons most responsible for human resources or engaging library volunteers (who have likely experienced similar types of situations with staff or volunteers) can also fill this role.

The first step to addressing problems and resolving conflict is to immediately address them. For example, a supervisor might need to discuss work-performance issues, inter-personal challenges, missed deadlines, missteps if/when dealing with the public (mis-information, unsatisfactory patron services, etc.), or other issues directly related to the intern’s work at the library. Discussing subpar intern performance can be addressed in a couple of ways: • Revisit the internship agreement and mutually agreed upon expectations, goals,

and objectives. Also potentially revisit training and orientation materials that might have covered the issue at hand. Then address inconsistencies and see if the intern understands your concerns and is still committed to the principles and practices agreed upon at the start of the internship.

• Reassess the goals and deliverables for the remainder of the internship experience to identify mutually acceptable goals between what needs to be done at the library and what the intern is capable of doing.

• Keep in mind that an intern might need to discuss a lack of support, insufficiently challenging work, interpersonal issues, unrealistic deadlines, misinformation leading to missteps when dealing with other staff or the community at large, and other issues directly related to how they are supported or have been prepared for their work. In these cases, your role will be to listen and offer suggestions for resolutions and support.

By treating the issue as one between professionals in the library system and following any conflict resolution training and best practices as developed internally by human resources or volunteer engagement staff persons, library staff can help limit the issue to one of work rather than allow it to become something personal.

If either party is uncomfortable or unwilling to address the other directly, consider bringing in the previously discussed neutral third party as soon as possible to facilitate a resolution. The inclusion of a neutral third party may also be necessary if either the supervisor or the intern feels that they’ve raised the issue with the other and, after more than one conversation and an acceptable window of time allowing for reasonable im-provement, feel that the issue is still not being resolved.

Despite excellent internship program design, staff and internship training, careful match-ing, clear expectations, and professional, conscientious conflict resolution, there may still be times when it becomes clear that an internship is more detrimental than ben-eficial to the professional development of the intern as well as the work of the library; in these cases, you may decide to let the intern go. While this is obviously a difficult decision to make, it is likely to be of greater benefit to all concerned to accept when an internship experience is untenable than to continue investing in it at the cost of staff and intern time and emotional energy. Just as it is difficult to let staff go, letting an intern go with whom you’ve invested significant time and energy is a hard decision to make.


However, if library staff and any involved neutral third parties (including any contacts you might have at the intern’s university or college – it is critical that you talk with these folks in advance of any decision-making, both to preserve the long-term partnership with their institution as well as to seek guidance on their own policies and procedures on this issue) determine that it is necessary to terminate an intern’s tenure, it is a good idea to discuss the issue with library human resources staff in advance; these folks are likely the most well-trained professionals in the library for dealing with this sort of issue. This is not to say that human resources staff should be the ones to tell the intern that the library has decided to end the internship; rather, they will likely be helpful in counsel-ing supervisors, Internship Program Managers, and neutral third parties in how to best break the news. l




Chapter 9: Recognition and Evaluation

Just as ongoing experiential learning is key an intern’s development, recognition of their hard work and accomplishments can be one of the most valuable rewards. Though recognition is discussed in this final chapter, recognition should not be relegated to the end of an internship. Rather, good recognition should be ongoing; the more it happens, the more likely you are to have a dedicated, motivated, and excited intern on staff.

Similarly, individual and internship program evaluation are not just meant for the end of an internship experi-ence. Instead consider evaluation to be the informed culmination of your findings from meetings, benchmarks, and other performance assessments (including such things as a mid-internship evaluations) completed along the way. At the same time, serious feedback provided to an intern throughout their experience with your li-brary demonstrates that you value and take both them and their work seriously.

Recognizing Your Interns

Recognition should be a regular practice for any good supervisor and certainly doesn’t need to be laborious. Frequent, varied, and, most importantly, honest gratitude and thanks can be invaluable in motivating your intern to do their best work. Ongoing recognition strategies and principles might include:• Personal recognition: Acknowledge outcomes (“Nice report”) but also be sure

to praise the specifics of the intern’s work (“I’m really impressed with all of the research and dedication you put into this report”). Learn what motivates them and how they best receive praise. Call out their strengths, challenges they overcame, and new knowledge that they acquired.

• Public recognition: Publicly acknowledge the intern’s work as well as their vital contributions to your team.

• Recognize appropriately: Small successes warrant small recognitions. Don’t hold a banquet to recognize meeting Friday’s deadline (this goes back to honest recognition) but do be sure to express your gratitude for their hard work and reliability.

• Recognize constantly: A sincere thank you and a smile can carry a lot of weight.

• Recognize immediately: Don’t wait for two weeks to acknowledge how well


F Determine methods for ongoing informal recognition

F Determine methods for formal recognition

F Recognize your interns!

F Develop strategies for ongoing evaluation of your interns

F Create a Mid-Intern Evaluation

F Craft a formal evaluation for your interns, supervisors, and internship program

F Conduct formal evaluations of interns and supervisors at the end of each internship

F Conduct a formal evaluation of the program at least once per year.

F Share the results of your evaluation internally and/or externally.



the intern did when presenting to library staff. Instead take a minute or two to express your impressions as they happen.

• Recognize what you want: If it is important for you and for your intern’s professional growth to perform their work in a particular way, praise it. Reinforcement of positive actions can mean greater chances of that action reoccurring.

Types of Intern RecognitionInformal recognition is about how you and your library make people feel on a daily basis. The tone is set by how paid staff, interns, volunteers, and patrons interact. Do you practice the same level of professional courtesy with your interns as you do your library patrons or staff peers?

The following are some informal ways to recognize your interns:• Say “Thank You”

• Give specific praise (“I’m really impressed with how you’ve ___”)

• Smile

• Ask their opinion

• Remember important information (birthdays, anniversaries, spouse or partner’s name, kids’ names, hobbies, interests, etc.)

• Acknowledge their work on a report or project by prominently featuring their name

• Give them a shout-out via staff emails or other internal communications so that you help to create a culture where staff can approach an intern and say, “I heard about the work you did on that project. Nice job!” (it also helps to encourage fellow staff to acknowledge the accomplishments of interns!)

• Invite them to lunch or a coffee break (with you, with colleagues, with library leadership)

• Invite them to participate in internal trainings as well as staff meetings and other important decision-making conversations in order to demonstrate how much you value their time, opinion, and ongoing education

• Ask them to help train or show the ropes to a new intern

• Introduce them in terms of their accomplishments (‘This is Jane Smith, she’s the one who designed our terrific new children’s reading hour.”)

• Contact whomever sent them your way to let them know how thankful you are for their contributions

• Set aside a public place in the library to mention great contributions by volunteers and interns.

You should also consider incorporating at least one kind of formal recognition into your internship program. Here are a few different forms it might take:• Write a strong letter of recommendation. Your interns are budding library

professionals who are actively seeking connections and networks in the field. Help them get started with a letter of recommendation that provides detailed


praise for all that they have accomplished and what they have ahead of them.

• Present the intern with an award, certificate, plaque, and/or public acknowledgement in an external newsletter or bulletin board to help them feel connected to and recognized by the community

• Host an official or ad hoc celebration of your intern’s accomplishments. These can be a formal recognition event, perhaps paired with efforts to recognize library volunteers, or something that takes place during a staff meeting, training, or other internal gathering

• Take them to lunch to celebrate their accomplishments with the library. Be sure to invite other staff and volunteers with whom the intern has interacted.

• Other ideas? The world of volunteer management is flush with ideas for formally acknowledging the contributions of volunteers. Check in with staff members responsible for engaging volunteers at your library – or seek out volunteer recognition materials online – for additional recognition ideas.

Evaluation: Interns, Supervisors, and Programs

Evaluating internsEffective evaluation begins with realistic, challenging expectations, a thorough orienta-tion, and clear channels of communication and feedback. In fact, in a perfect world, nothing that emerges from an evaluation process should come as a surprise to either the intern or the supervisor. In previous chapters, we have discussed several of the ways that you might conduct this kind of regular, ongoing evaluation as part of your communications and supervisions strategies. However, you will also want to implement more formal evaluation methods. Some characteristics of a good evaluation program might include:

• Opportunities to revisit and redesign internship position descriptions

• A periodic scheduled evaluation meeting between the intern and their supervisor to discuss job performance and satisfaction (this can be part of your regular weekly check-ins or something more formally scheduled)

• A Mid-Internship Evaluation (see the next section)

• A method for reviewing commitments to change made during evaluation meeting

• An exit interview to discuss how things went and how they can be improved for future interns

This system should be explained to each intern during their initial orientation session, and should be reviewed with each staff person who will be participating in the supervision and mentorship process.

The Importance of Up-to-Date Position Descriptions

Without good position descriptions that out-line the goals, objectives, and performance measures of internships, supervisors will not know what they are asking of the intern and the intern will not know what is expected. Avoid this problem by updating descriptions annually to reflect new strategies as well as feedback from previous intern and supervisor experiences.


Mid-Internship Evaluation Mid-Internship Evaluations offer a chance to discuss whether goals for the first half of the internship were met as well as potential modifications for the second half. This evalu-ation may end up taking the form of an everything-is-going-well meeting but can also offer a chance for some mid-internship corrections (reassessing goals, work/communica-tion styles, realistic outcomes, etc.). An internship is a fluid, evolving experience and a dedicated time to reflect and plan in the middle of the internship will help ensure that the program is a success from start to finish. Here are a few questions every supervisor should consider asking their intern during a Mid-Internship Evaluation (based on those developed for Idealist.org’s internship program):• What parts of your internship do you most enjoy?

• What parts do you enjoy least?

• Are your tasks, responsibilities, and projects what you expected? Why or why not?

• Are you currently experiencing any challenges that are hindering your ability to do your best work? What can we do to support you and/or overcome these challenges?

• Are there any areas where you feel you need additional training, resources, or support?

• Do you feel that the remaining work and associated timelines is feasible? Why or why not?

• Do you feel that you are receiving quality opportunities for ongoing learning and professional development? If so, which have been your favorites? If not, what can we do differently to improve the quality of future opportunities?

• What would you consider to be your greatest accomplishments thus far?

• What would you like to achieve with the remainder of your internship?

Here are a few questions to consider an internship program manager might consider ask-ing the intern’s supervisor as well (again, based in part on Idealist.org’s internship program):• What have you observed to be this intern’s greatest strengths?

• In what if any areas would you like to see improvement? How might we be able to help them improve in these areas?

• What would you consider to be the intern’s greatest accomplishments thus far?

• What would you consider to be their greatest challenges? Any ideas for how we can help them overcome these challenges?

• What would you like to achieve with this intern with the remainder of their time at the library?

• Do you feel that the remaining work and associated timelines for the internship are feasible? Why or why not?

• Are there any areas where you feel you need additional training, resources, or support to manage your intern?

• Do you feel you have a good working relationship with your intern? Why or why not? If not, how can we help to improve this relationship?


Intern PortfolioAnother excellent way for an intern to track and reflect on their own experience is to have them keep a portfolio of their work. This can consist of documents created by the intern, written evaluation forms from supervisors and library staff, and memorabilia from their experience (news-letters, thank-you notes, programs from trainings/events, etc.). A partial list of items that might be included in this type of portfolio includes:• Their internship position description

• Submitted reports or documents

• Project or program materials

• References, letters of recommendation, and other praise (internal emails, newsletters, etc.)

• Key correspondence (internal and external)

• Awards, certificates and recognitions

• Training materials

• Brochures and other print materials

• Manuals and surveys

• Press releases and other media mentions

• Supervisor, personal, and/or program evaluations

Final Evaluations: Staff and InternsIf regular check-ins and Mid-Internship Evaluations are in place, the final evaluation should generally not be a dif-ficult process. Instead this should be an opportunity to re-flect on the course of the internship and gather feedback and ideas from throughout the term.

Supervisors might consider answering some of the follow-ing questions in preparation for final evaluation of their interns (based on Idealist.org’s internship program):• Did the intern complete their internship goals,

objectives, and deliverables? Why or why not?

• How well did they accomplish their tasks and deliverables?

• How has the intern’s accomplishments contributed to the library’s overall goals and objectives?

• What do you think the intern’s greatest strengths were? Areas for continued improvement? Suggestions for how they might do this going forward?

• Are there any areas where you have witnessed marked improvement or skill development on the part of the intern? If so, what was it?

• Has there been any aspect of the intern’s work where you were particularly impressed? If so, please describe it.

Academic Evaluations

If you are partnering with an academic insti-tution – or your intern is affiliated with a col-lege or university – check to see if they have a standard evaluation form for use with their student interns. Not only can this potentially save you the step of developing your own evaluation, it will also prepare you to fulfill this institutional obligation when the time comes.

Fun with Paperwork

While it’s a great idea for interns to create their own professional portfolios, keep in mind that you should also keep an *official* file on all interns engaged; this would prefer-ably be housed with your library’s HR staff (and should be subject to any and all relevant HR policies regarding confidentiality.) Items to include might include intern application materials, position descriptions, acceptance letters, internship agreements, exit interviews, evaluations, and letters of recommendation.


• Are there any aspects of supervision that you might do differently with a future intern? If so, please describe.

• How can we best support you as an intern supervisor in the future?

• What if any changes or additions might you make to this internship’s current position description? Are there any additional trainings or resources we should make available to increase their chances of success?

Interns might be asked questions like the following (again, based on Idealist.org’s intern-ship program):• What parts of your internship did you most

enjoy?

• What parts did you enjoy least?

• Were your tasks, responsibilities, and projects what you expected? Why or why not?

• Do you feel that you completed your internship’s goals and objectives per the discussion with your supervisor at the start of your internship?

• Do you feel that you received adequate training, support, and/or resources to do your best work? If not, how might we better support a future intern in this type of position?

• Do you feel that you received quality opportunities for ongoing learning and professional development? If so, which were your favorites? If not, what can we do differently to improve the quality for future interns?

• What would you consider to be your greatest accomplishments? What are you most proud of?

• What was most challenging?

• Did you discover anything new about your professional self that you didn’t know before this internship?

• How do you feel that this internship contributed to your longer-term goals of a career with libraries?

• What did you wish you’d known before you started your internship? What advice would you have for future interns with our library?

• Do you feel that you had a good working relationship with your supervisor? Why or why not? If not, how can we help to improve this relationship for future interns?

• How can we best support future interns in this type of position?

• What if any changes or additions might you make to your internship’s position description? Are there any additional trainings or resources we should make available to increase future intern chances of success?

Note that these questions can be asked in-person or using a format that provides some or total anonymity such as web-based surveys (sites like SurveyMonkey.com offer free albeit sometimes limited online survey tools). Whether these responses are shared in full with both supervisors and interns is up to your library; on one hand, candid information

Designing Exit Interviews andEvaluations

Please see the appendix section of this tool-kit for sample exit interview and supervisor evaluation forms to help inform your own.


on performance is good to have but can also be difficult to take. If you have established a culture of ongoing learning and improvement though, this should ideally be something that is expected and beneficial. Talk to human resources staff to determine if and how much evaluation information to share with supervisors, interns, leadership, and others.

Final PresentationsAnother useful method to gauge the success of an intern’s experience (as well as offer opportunities for public recognition and public speaking skill development) is to have each intern present their accomplishments to staff. This presentation primarily serves three purposes: 1) codifying the work into a form that can be incorporated into a pro-gram review, 2) recognizing the hard work of the intern with and to staff, and 3) inform-ing staff about the work of interns, thus building institutional knowledge of and buy-in for the internship program.

Evaluating the ProgramIntern and supervisor responses should be recorded and sent to the Internship Program Manager to compile and use in a formal annual review of the internship pro-gram. Feedback, ideas, and suggested changes can then be considered, compiled with evaluations of other for-mer and/or current interns, and potentially incorporated into such internship program documents as policies and procedures, internship position descriptions, internship handbooks, and orientation and training materials.

Sharing ResultsFinally, consider ways in which you might share the find-ings of your evaluations. Internally, you might write up a brief report of the internship program achievements, opportunities for improvement, and acknowledgment of the contributions of staff, volunteers, and interns to the pro-cess. If your library has a board of directors or other leadership body outside of staff, you might do a presentation for them highlighting the successes of your interns and overall internship program as well. Externally, you might consider sharing what worked well for you with your peers in the field via presentations at regional or national con-ferences, sharing written feedback with academic and community partners, or possibly even writing articles for publication in industry publications. l

Tracking Internship Stats

You’ll also want to keep track of internship statistics including such things as how many interns your library has engaged, how many hours they contributed, and tangible ac-complishments and outcomes achieved by interns; you can track these kinds of data in a formal database or something as simple as a spreadsheet document. Not only can this information inform the continual improvement of your internship program but it can also be handy information for future grant or other funding applications and opportunities!




Chapter 10: Additional Resources

We’ve done our best to provide a comprehensive library internship toolkit for you here. However, there are many resources out there that you might also consider con-sulting. Here are a few that we discovered in the process of developing this toolkit:

• “Employer’s Guide to Building a Quality Internship Program” by UNLV Career Services: http://hire.unlv.edu/pdf/employersinternship.pdf

• “Employer’s Manual for Internships” by Lock Haven University Career Services: http://www.lhup.edu/careerservices/Internships/Employers/files/Manual.pdf

• “Public Library Internships: Advice from the Field,” edited by Cindy Mediavilla (Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2006)

• “Starting and Maintaining a Quality Internship Program” by Messiah College and the Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania: http://www.wheaton.edu/Academics/Career/~/media/0D5F4C0CD5F4444DACAE8F9B65C25DA4.pdf

Also, be sure to visit our website at http://libraryinterns.blogspot.com for links to examples, samples, and templates of internship program models, forms, and effective practices. We’ll continue to add new examples as we find them (or as they are sent to us – see box at right)! l

Do you know of any great resources out there on hosting library interns? Have sugges-tions for future versions of this toolkit? Please don’t hesitate to let us know by emailing [email protected]. Thank you!




http://www.wheaton.edu/Academics/Career/~/media/0D5F4C0CD5F4444DACAE8F9B65C25DA4.pdf

http://www.wheaton.edu/Academics/Career/~/media/0D5F4C0CD5F4444DACAE8F9B65C25DA4.pdf


mailto:juneb%40multco.us?subject=Resource%20for%20your%20toolkit%27s%20list


Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success Appendix A 52

Appendix A: Potential Benefits and Challenges of Hosting Interns

There are several reasons to consider hosting one or more interns at your library. Indeed, there are a number of benefits that can be accrued both the library and the individual intern. Here are a few of those benefits, as collected from sources in the field as well as respondents to the internship engagement survey of libraries in the Pacific Northwest:

Potential Benefits for the Library• The ability to get more work done with the

assistance of skilled interns, including tasks and projects that might otherwise not get done at all (as well as opportunities for staff to try out new projects which they previously would have been unable to try);

• The opportunity to train and invest in the next generation of library leadership (including identifying potential future employees);

• Model career paths to and within libraries to your patrons;

• Access to new perspectives, ideas, and skill sets;

• Access to professional development opportunities for existing staff (for example, developing management skills);

• The opportunity for self-reflection and evaluation, facilitated by sharing staff expertise with interns;

• Opportunities to build and sustain partnerships with educational institutions and communities;

• Furthering the library’s mission of reaching out to and providing educational opportunities to the community;

• The affordability and flexibility of engaging interns;

• Interns diversifying the library team, including bringing in younger individuals and individuals representative of the community served; and

• Opportunities for positive public relations in the community and with funders.

• To better serve and support your community.

• Building a cadre of people who better understand the work of the library and can therefore be strong advocates of their importance

Potential Benefits for the Intern• Opportunities for high quality, hands-on experience in a real world library

setting, including mentorship, job-shadowing, and exposure to many different kinds of library roles and projects;

A Quick Note Regarding Paid Internships

This toolkit focuses almost entirely on the development and management of unpaid internships. If you are considering offering paid internships, you might want to read Pub-lic Library Internships: Advice from the Field,” edited by Cindy Mediaville and published by Scarecrow Press, Inc. in 2006, for additional information and possible models.


• Professional skill development and resume-building in a supportive environment;

• Chance for interns to confirm that they are on the right career path and/or determine specific interests or areas of specialization within library environments to pursue;

• Access to building new professional relationships, networks, job contacts, and potential references; and

• Opportunities to gain and fulfill academic credits and requirements, all while applying real world practice to academic learning.

Potential Challenges to ConsiderSo with all of these potential benefits to garner from hosting interns, it might seem like a no-brainer to get started. However, there are also some real challenges to consider before taking the leap, including: • Lacking the infrastructure to effectively find, train, and manage interns and/or

adhere to university requirements;

• Lacking knowledge of and/or time to develop appropriate internship projects;

• Lacking time and/or staff capacity to effectively engage interns;

• Lacking the necessary financial, space, or other types of resources to effectively engage interns;

• Finding and matching appropriate interns given available internship roles or tasks;

• Establishing clear understanding of and agreement to library and intern needs and expectations;

• Staff lacking the necessary skills to train and supervise interns (as well as an understanding of what interns can potentially do); and

• Sustaining intern projects after the internship is complete.

• Understanding the culture of your workplace and bringing in someone who will be a good fit;

• Interns taking the lead on a project that a staff person wants to take on, potentially unintentionally fostering jealousy or resentment.

Having reviewed these challenges though, one of the goals of this toolkit is to help you assess, prepare for, and ideally prevent them from diminishing the benefits your library can experience from hosting interns.

Consider what Cindy Mediaville wrote in “Public Library Internships: Advice from the Field” on this topic:

Although internships demand a lot of effort on the part of the student, the school, and the worksite, the benefits of such programs are overwhelming-ly positive. Not only does the practicum allow the student an opportunity to put into practice new skills and knowledge learned in the classroom, but this experience may actually lead to one’s very first professional job. In addition, the internship site gains an enthusiastic, if temporary, employee

“”


who often brings a fresh perspective to the workplace. Mentor relation-ships may also develop as new professional networks are formed.1 l




Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success Appendix B 55

Appendix B: Library Readiness Assessment Questions

1. Has your library hosted interns in the past?

a. If so, was it successful? How did you measure this success? What lessons were learned? Why did the internship program stop?

b. If your library has not hosted interns, why not?

2. How might interns further the mission and work of your library?

a. How might your library benefit from hosting interns?

b. How will interns benefit from joining your library team?

3. What risks might exist for engaging interns?

a. What potential problems might you foresee?

b. How might you prepare for and/or avoid these risks?

4. Is your library’s organizational culture amenable to hosting interns?

a. For example, is it a politically charged environment? One that welcomes new team members?

5. How might you specifically engage interns at your library?

a. What types of projects, tasks, and roles might they take on?

i. What ongoing tasks and projects can be handed off to interns?

ii. What new tasks and projects can an intern potentially take on?

iii. Can any of these be done remotely via the Internet?

b. What specific skills or knowledge will they need to succeed in these roles?

c. Would these be part-time roles? Full-time roles?

d. How might they differ from current volunteers? Staff?

6. Does your library have appropriate capacity to host interns?

a. Will staff be available to provide guidance and support to interns?

i. Who will be responsible for each step of the process: finding interns, interviewing/selection, orientation and training, management and supervision, evaluation, etc.?

b. Do you have a place for interns to work? The tools required to succeed: a desk, computer, etc.?

c. What, if any, fiscal resources are available for the internship program?

d. Are you willing to help interns find housing if they are coming in from out of town (for example, a summer internship)?

e. How many interns can we reasonably support?

i. Will these be part-time, full-time, or a mix of both?

Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success Appendix B 56

7. What if any experience does your fellow staff have with interns?

a. Have they ever worked with and/or supervised interns?

b. Are they comfortable collaborating with interns?

c. What types of projects, roles, or tasks do they think might be appropriate for interns?

i. What ongoing tasks and projects can be handed off to interns?

ii. What new tasks and projects can an intern potentially take on?

d. What kind of support/training would they like or need to be prepared for working with and/or supervising interns? l



Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success Appendix C 57

Appendix C: Identifying Internship Projects and Roles

Before you begin crafting position descriptions for potential interns, spend time brain-storming potential projects, tasks, and roles for them. Ask yourself – as well as staff peers and library leadership – questions like the following: • What are some skilled projects or tasks that you just don’t have time to get

done?

• How might an intern be able to assist with this? Can they take the lead? Assist with specific pieces of it?

• What skills and/or education would they need to have to succeed?

• Do you suspect that the time spent training and managing an intern to take on this role will be worth it for the final product?

• What is on your wish list of new projects and tasks to try? For example, a new approach to an old problem or a new idea/project entirely?

• How might an intern help you accomplish this? Might they take the lead on it? Can they get started on one part of it?

• What tasks or responsibilities might an intern be able to free you from so that you can focus on this new project?

• What skills and/or education would they need to have to succeed?

• Do you suspect that the time spent training and managing an intern to take on this role will be worth it for the final product?

• If you were in charge of educating the next generation of library leadership, what would you want them to know?

• What are the top five things you think an intern should know about our library and/or library careers?

• What are the top five skills you think an intern should learn in order to be prepared for a career with libraries?

Once you have a working list of potential projects or tasks, it’s time to break them down into the component parts of the work. For example:• What specific tasks and responsibilities are associated with this role or project?

• How many hours per week will it likely take an intern to do these tasks?

• Should they be full-time? Part-time?

• What training might they need to succeed? Who can provide this?

• What do they need to know coming into the position that training and orientation likely won’t cover?

• What resources will they need to do this work? Keep in mind that this can range from financial resources to having a place (and a computer with which) to work.

Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success Appendix C 58

• Who is available to supervise an intern in this role? How much time will this likely take?

• Are you open to accepting interns from out of town?

• If so, can you help them find accommodations?

• Are any of these projects amenable to finding online interns? This can be an especially good option for libraries located in rural areas and/or far from universities.

• Keep in mind that many writing, research, and web-related projects can be completed from anywhere in the world, using the Internet and phone to collaborate between staff and intern

• Are these projects open to people with varying degrees of mobility or other potential physical limitations? How can we ensure that these projects are accessible to a broad pool of potential candidates?

So what are some potential library internship projects to consider? Here are just a few that other libraries have tried:• Developing programs for children, youth, and teens

• Planning and coordinating community events

• Assisting with technology and media projects, including website development/management, social media, digital collections, digital publishing, and systems administration

• Archiving and digitizing library materials, including converting files and encoding

• Assisting with ongoing library tasks and programs like cataloging, references, instruction, collection development/management, weeding, circulation, Summer reading programs, book clubs, storytime programs, after-school mentoring/tutoring/homework help

• Designing and delivering internal trainings for staff on topics like effective social media and conducting outreach to diverse communities

• Designing marketing and outreach materials – from blogs to newsletters

• Conducting assessment and research projects on topics like working with special needs patrons, distance education tools, and community needs

• Assisting with fundraising and grant writing

• Developing research and subject guides

• Creating videos and photography to exhibit or supplement library materials and programs l



Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success Appendix D 59

Appendix D: Internship Position Description Template

[Name of Your Library][Title of the Internship]

Our Library[Provide basic information about your library, including size, history, communities served, and current programs.]

[Department or Program Name; for example: Marketing and Outreach][Offer additional information about the department or program this internship will be working within; for example: “every month, our Youth Department serves 3,000 young people who use the library for everything from researching school projects to receiving homework assistance to learning about new technologies in community workshops.”]

Internship Tasks and Responsibilities[Describe the specific details of the internship, including tasks the intern will be respon-sible for, who they will work with and/or report to, where and when the internship will take place (including hours and information on the work environment/culture), length/time commitment of the internship. Be sure to state whether the internship will be paid or unpaid!]

Qualifications[Describe what skills and education are preferred, as well as what skills and education are required, of internship candidates.]

Benefits and Importance of Internship[Explain why this internship matters and how the role/project is important to the library. Also describe the benefits that the intern is likely to gain from this experience, including training and professional development opportunities that will be offered.]

How to Apply[Details for how interested candidates can apply, including links to any required forms, any questions that you might want applicants to answer and submit along with their cre-dentials, and where/how they should submit application materials. Should also include information on who to contact with questions.] l



Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success Appendix E 60

Appendix E: Internship Application Template

[Name of Your Library][Title of the Internship]

Complete the following information and submit, along with your resume and contact information for three professional references, to: [contact]

Name: Date:

University: Degree/Major:

GPA: Expected Date of Graduation:

Required # of internship hours:

Length of internship sought: Desired start date: Desired end date:

Internship availability (times/days of week):

At which library branch or program are you seeking an internship and why:

Please describe relevant skills and qualifications for this internship:

REQUIRED QUESTIONS: 1. [EXAMPLE: Please share why you are interested in this particular internship. Why our

library? Why this position? What do you find intriguing? What do you hope to learn or experience?]

2. [EXAMPLE: Please describe the skills and expertise you would bring to this internship with the [Library]. Share specific examples of similar projects or tasks you have completed in the past, including what was positive and what was challenging about the experience.]

3. [EXAMPLE: If this internship will help to complete school, college, or university requirements, please also answer the following question: Please explain in detail the type of internship experiences required for your program, including the level of mentoring required, type of tasks you might be required to gain hands-on experience with, and any other relevant information that will best help us determine if this is an internship experience we can reasonably provide.] l

IF A

PPLI

CA

BLE:



Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success Appendix F 61

Appendix F: Sample Auto-Reply Text for Applicants

EMAIL SUBJECT: Thank you for your application!Thank you for applying for an internship with [Library]! A member of our staff will review your application materials and contact you within one to two weeks. Again, thank you,

[Contact Name][Contact Title][Contact Email Address] l



Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success Appendix G 62

Appendix G: Sample Acceptance and Rejection Letters

Requesting Interview

EMAIL SUBJECT: [Internship Title] at [Library]Thank you for applying for an internship with [Library]! We have reviewed your ap-plication materials and would like to schedule an interview. Please respond with your availability for a one-hour meeting/phone call on [Available Dates]. Again, thank you,

[Contact Name][Contact Title][Contact Email Address]

Acceptance Email

EMAIL SUBJECT: [Internship Title] at [Library]Thank you for applying for an internship with [Library]! We are pleased to offer you the position of [Internship Title] at [Library] from [Start Date] to [End Date]. I would like to schedule a conversation to discuss next steps and details within the next week. Please respond with your availability for a one-hour meeting/phone call on [Available Dates].

We look forward to working with you!


Rejection Email with Volunteer Offer

EMAIL SUBJECT: [Internship Title] at [Library]Thank you for applying for an internship with [Library]! Unfortunately we are unable to offer you this internship at this time. However, we would love for you to consider contrib-uting your skills and expertise with us as a volunteer! If this is something of interest to you, please fill out the attached volunteer application and submit it to [contact information]. Again, thank you for your interest,


Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success Appendix G 63

Rejection Email without Volunteer Offer

EMAIL SUBJECT: [Internship Title] at [Library]Thank you for applying for an internship with [Library]! Unfortunately we are unable to offer you this internship at this time. We do appreciate your interest though and wish you the best of luck in your search. Again, thank you,

[Contact Name][Contact Title][Contact Email Address] l



Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success Appendix H 64

Appendix H: Interview Questions Checklist

Here are a few questions to consider asking as part of your interview process:

F What most appealed to you about our library? This particular internship?

F What are your future career goals? Why have you chosen libraries as your career path?

F (For students) Tell me about your degree program. How did you choose it? How do you think it has prepared you for an internship in a library setting?

F (For non-students) Tell me about your professional experience in ___ field. How will these experiences and skills potentially benefit an internship in a library setting?

F Tell me about your experience with [one or more specific skills required to succeed in the internship].

F What would you most like to learn from an internship? What would you most like to experience?

F What do you consider to be your greatest strengths (for example, writing, research, having a long-term vision, attention to detail, etc.)? How might these lend to and/or be strengthened by this internship?

F What would you consider to be your greatest challenges? How might this internship help you to address these challenges?

F What is your availability for the internship: when can you start, how long can you stay, what type of schedule might you be available for, etc.?

F Is there anything else that you would like for us to know about your qualifications for this internship?

F Do you have any questions for me today? l



Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success Appendix I 65

Appendix I: Reference Interviews Template

Name of Applicant:

Internship Title:

Reference #1 Name and Title:

Q1: [Example: What do you consider to be this applicant’s strongest skills or quali-ties?]

Q2: [Example: What do you consider to be their greatest challenges or weaknesses?]

Q3: [Example: Please describe a situation in which you have seen this person thrive or excel]




Q3: [Example: Please describe a situation in which you have seen this person thrive or excel]




Q3: [Example: Please describe a situation in which you have seen this person thrive or excel] l



Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success Appendix J 66

Appendix J: Considering DIY Candidates

Chances are good that you’ve had individuals approach your library in the past with the interest of securing an internship – only it wasn’t in response to one of your recruitment efforts. For example, perhaps they happened to be on your website and think it could use a tune-up, so they have approached you to see if you’ll take them on as an intern to do so. What do you do in these situations?

Don’t panic. Instead, just add two preliminary steps to the screening and selection process described in Chapter 5:

1. Ask them to craft a detailed outline for the internship position they have in mind:a. What would the goals be?b. What kind of timeline do they have in mind?

c. What resources would they need?

2. Take a look at the outline and assess it much as you would your own internal wish list of potential internship tasks and projects:

a. Is this project or role something you need? Something the library could benefit from?

b. Run it by relevant staff. For example, if the position is to update the library website, does the Director of Technology agree that it makes sense? Do they have time to manage this intern?

If the answer to the questions in #2 above is “yes,” then you may have the makings of a good internship on your hands. If the answer is no, however:• Be sure to communicate your gratitude to them for sharing their idea with the library.

• Let them know that you would like to keep them in mind for a future internship on this topic should it become a priority.

• In the meantime, they are welcome to apply for any of the existing internship (or volunteer) opportunities that have already been created; they might also pitch their idea to your library’s volunteer coordinator as an independent volunteer project.

The goal here is to not succumb to the desire to create something for everyone who comes in with an idea or a desire to help. Instead, put the responsibility for making the case for the internship project or role back on them and, should it seem like a good fit for your library, then have them go through the same screening, interviewing, and matching process that you’ll conduct for all of your other candidates. If a mutually beneficial fit is not the out-come, you can always help direct them to other organizational partners to ensure that they are supported in finding opportunities to serve that best suit their skills and interests. l



Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success Appendix K 67

Appendix K: Internship Agreement Template

Intern Statement of Commitment[Name of Library]

Name:

Internship Title:

Internship Location: This is a c Paid / c Unpaid Internship.

Emergency Contact Information

Name:

Phone Number: Relationship:

Commitment The library agrees:• To provide a respectful work and learning environment

• To provide training and support as needed

• To appreciate your commitment and accomplishments

I agree:• To attend orientation and training(s)

• To notify the library of an absence as far in advance as possible

• To accept guidance from staff

• To adhere to all library policies, processes and procedures

I received a copy of the Internship Position Description and understand the tasks and responsi-bilities of this position. I have also received a copy of the [Library] Internship Handbook and will comply with all library policies and procedures.

Signature: Date:



Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success Appendix L 68

Appendix L: Orientation Checklist

Orientation can serve as a formal group session presented by you and/or other staff to a group of more than one incoming interns. However, it can also be a one-on-one discussion of information and facts. Either way, there are some core components that should be incorporated into any orientation, including:

F A brief introduction to the history and mission of the library

F An overview of the library’s structure, from broader staff hierarchies to (if relevant) how it fits into a larger organizational system such as city government, county government, or a university

F An overview of the library’s current educational and community programs and services, including copies of any relevant materials such as newsletters or program guides

F A mental – or even physical – map of the library and neighboring community, including information on where their work station is, where the bathrooms are, where they can take breaks, and good places to grab a bite to eat

F Be sure to help them get settled into their new workstation, including securing any supplies or resources they might need – from a desk lamp to an email address (as well as how to login and who to ask if they run into technical questions)

F Library policies and procedures, including risk management strategies - including what to do (and who to call) in case of emergency – and how to best represent the library to members of the public and/or media

F Any internal jargon or acronyms that they might want or need to learn

F Dress and behavior expectations of library team members.

You should also consider: F Sending a welcome announcement out to all staff and volunteers, announcing

the intern’s arrival to the team.

F Whenever possible, walking the intern around the library on their first day to help familiarize them with their new work environment as well as introducing them to current staff and volunteers, especially library leadership and those with whom the intern will be working on a regular basis. This will help to make the interns feel welcome as well as to begin placing faces with names, while also making staff aware that the intern has *officially* joined the team. l



Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success Appendix M 69

Appendix M: Establishing Expectations

One more important thing to do as part of their first day orientation is to set the tone for the internship by having an honest discussion about expectations and project specifics. This can include such things as:• Personal and professional expectations of the intern

• What does the intern hope to learn? Accomplish?

• What does the intern expect the experience to be like?

• What library roles/programs/services would they like to learn more about?

• What kinds of training or other support might they need?

• What kinds of communications and supervision methods do they prefer?

• What kinds of professional development/ongoing learning are they most interested in exploring?

• Goals and expectations of the library and supervisor

• What does the library hope to accomplish via this internship?

• What professional expectations/requirements does the library have of their interns? What does the supervisor expect of this intern?

• What kinds of communications and supervision methods do they prefer?

• How does the library/supervisor plan to facilitate ongoing support for and evaluation of the internship?

• What is the plan for intern professional development during the internship?

• College and/or university expectations or requirements (if relevant);

• Is the library required to submit progress reports, evaluations, or other formal paperwork during the course of/upon completion of the internship?

• Is the library required to offer a predetermined number of professional development sessions/trainings per internship? On any particular topics?

• What if any other requirements might exist for libraries hosting interns?

Note that most of these topics should already have been discussed during the intern-ship recruitment and selection processes – for example, as part of the internship position description and internship agreement paperwork – so it shouldn’t be the first time the conversation is had. However, revisiting these topics will help to establish a collaborative tone, as well as realistic expectations for all, from the very first day. l



Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success Appendix N 70

Appendix N: Training Checklist

Training should focus on the tools, systems, and skills required for the intern to succeed in their role. Topics to cover might include: Project/Role-specific topics

F Basics of collection development, assisting with references, etc.

Universal library skills/practices F Communications and community outreach

F Customer service basics

F Intellectual freedom

F Open Access / Access to information

F Project/Program design, development, and management

F Serving vulnerable populations

F Serving youth l

Free Web-Based Trainings Available!

Looking for introductory trainings on customer service, intellectual freedom, reference inter-views, youth programs, or project planning? As part of the development of this toolkit, we have also created web-based trainings on these very topics. To review as well as poten-tially offer these trainings to your future interns, please visit the Multnomah County Library website at http://libraryinterns.blogspot.com




Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success Appendix O 71

Appendix O: The First Meeting - Supervisors Checklist

Being organized and ready for the intern’s arrival demonstrates to them that they have a reliable supervisor and encourages them to model this behavior going forward. Items for discussion might include:

Work style: F What are the intern’s work preferences?

F What are the supervisor’s work style preferences?

F Does the intern/supervisor like to work from the big picture or from a detailed to-do list?

F Are strict deadlines helpful or hindering? Do they motivate or create anxiety?

F How often should interns and supervisors check in?

F How should they check in (emails, short meetings, shared documents)?

Internship goals: F What are the supervisor’s goals regarding the work of the intern?

F Revisit the skills, experiences, and professional experience the intern hopes to garner during their time at the library.

F Mutually create and agree to a timeline and key deliverables for successful completion of internship project goals and objectives.

Feedback: F How does the intern/supervisor prefer to give and receive feedback?

F Do they like immediate feedback or feedback during check-ins?

F Do they prefer written or oral feedback?

Keep in mind that feedback on projects and professional-development/behavioral feedback may differ. It is usually easier to hear negative feedback on a project (more impersonal) than on how one goes about their work (more personal). Be clear at the onset how each party would like to give and receive these kinds of information. l



Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success Appendix P 72

Appendix P: Facilitating Reflection

Setting up dedicated reflection opportunities for interns can be one of the easiest and best ways to begin a mentorship experience. For example, as explained in the “Employer’s Guide to Building a Quality Internship Program” by UNLV Career Services:

There are a variety of ways to assist the student in reflection. Reflection can include group discussions among interns, focus groups, 1-minute writing on a particular subject or the day, and on-going journaling. You can also strengthen the mentorship by offering feedback to the journals or through periodic informal meetings such as a standing monthly lunch.

Examples of reflection questions you might pose to your interns might include:• “What did I learn today?

• What ‘best practices’ did I observe?

• What professional problem-solving did I observe?

• What did I learn not to do?

• What did I learn about myself: my strengths, my weaknesses, my likes, my dislikes, learning gaps? new courses? more experience needed?”1 l

1. “Public Library Internships: Advice from the Field,” edited by Cindy Mediaville, p24

“”




Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success Appendix Q 73

Appendix Q: Check-in Meeting Strategies

A few check in methods to consider might include:

Daily Check-insEven though daily meetings may seem more demanding on the surface, daily check-ins can actually be one of the more efficient uses of your time. Set an outline for brief 5-10 minute meetings and, if items don’t fit into that outline, save them for email discussions or a longer weekly meeting. One possible format can include:• A quick report on yesterday’s work: What was accomplished? What questions

came up? (Note: you may not have time to answer all of their questions and that’s okay. You can always come back to these during a longer meeting).

• What’s happening today? What are the goals? What support do they need?

• Sharing updates: Do you have anything to share from a wider organizational perspective for the intern? Library news? Feedback/responses from staff connected to the intern’s work? Anything else that can help them today and going forward?

Weekly MeetingsThese 30-45 minute meetings can serve as either your primary check-in opportunity or, if you are also doing daily check-ins, offer a time to dig a bit deeper into the past week and to focus more intently on the coming week’s work. If you’re also holding short, daily meetings, these weekly meetings should flow quickly while also allowing time to discuss thinks like:• Intern questions, ideas, or concerns

• How the intern’s work is helping the library

• Challenges, successes, strengths, and comforts

• Long-range plans

• Professional development goals and progress

• “Non-work conversation” like anecdotes, institutional questions (sharing institutional knowledge), and other discussions not focused solely on the intern’s work.

Both daily and/or weekly check-ins can be done via email, online shared document sites like Google Docs, or other technology mediums but there is also substantive value to face time; it can often help to limit confusion, speed up the answering of questions (and therefore the ability for an intern to proceed with their work), and, most importantly, make an intern feel like they are worth your time. That said, there are several ways to use web-based tools for communication and project management – especially if you are working primarily with online interns! – including:

Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success Appendix Q 74

Shared Documents Google Docs and other shared, virtual workspaces are an increasingly popular way to collaborate online. These tools allow for anyone to work on a project from anywhere with an internet connection at any time, meaning you can add ideas, contacts, and sug-gestions to the document for the intern to incorporate as both of your schedules allow. This is also a great way for a supervisor to check in on daily progress. Just pop over at the end of the day to see what’s been added.

Instant MessagingInstant messaging can be an excellent way to get quick questions answered during the course of the day. You can log on and off IM if you don’t want to be interrupted or keep it open to communicate with your intern as needed throughout the day.

EmailDaily check-ins can sometime occur via email. As well, you can email interns new ideas, slight adjustments to schedules, to-do lists, organizational information, introductions to staff members, and other information that might be of interest.

CalendarsIf your intern has a variable schedule during their internship, online calendar sharing can be a useful tool for scheduling and aligning meeting times and other in-person gatherings. l



Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success Appendix R 75

Appendix R: Strategies for Conflict Resolution

When dealt with professionally and conscientiously – as well as with empathy (after all, most people don’t aspire to deliver poor quality work) – conflict can lead to both bet-ter working conditions as well as overall internship program improvements.

The first step to addressing problems and resolving conflict is to immediately address them. For example, a supervisor might need to discuss work-performance issues, interper-sonal challenges, missed deadlines, missteps if/when dealing with the public (misinforma-tion, unsatisfactory patron services, etc.), or other issues directly related to the intern’s work at the library. Discussing subpar intern performance can be addressed in a couple of ways: • Revisit the internship agreement and mutually agreed upon expectations, goals,

and objectives. Also potentially revisit training and orientation materials that might have covered the issue at hand. Then address inconsistencies and see if the intern understands your concerns and is still committed to the principles and practices agreed upon at the start of the internship.

• Reassess the goals and deliverables for the remainder of the internship experience to identify mutually acceptable goals between what needs to be done at the library and what the intern is capable of doing.

• Keep in mind that an intern might need to discuss a lack of support, insufficiently challenging work, interpersonal issues, unrealistic deadlines, misinformation leading to missteps when dealing with other staff or the community at large, and other issues directly related to how they are supported or have been prepared for their work. In these cases, your role will be to listen and offer suggestions for resolutions and support.

By treating the issue as one between professionals in the library system and following any conflict resolution training and best practices as developed internally by human resources or volunteer engagement staff persons, library staff can help limit the issue to one of work rather than allow it to become something personal.

Note: If either party is uncomfortable or unwilling to address the other directly, consider bringing in a neutral third party – someone from the intern’s college or university, a com-munity member from a conflict resolution or similar type of organization, or possibly even the Internship Program Manager and/or a staff person responsible for human resources or engaging library volunteers – to facilitate a resolution. The inclusion of a neutral third party may also be necessary if either the supervisor or the intern feels that they’ve raised the issue with the other and, after more than one conversation and an acceptable window of time allowing for reasonable improvement, feel that the issue is still not being resolved. Finally, if there are any problems or concerns regarding a student intern, consider engag-ing their school or department advisor in the conversation as well. l



Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success Appendix S 76

Appendix S: Sample Exit Interview1

Name:

Internship Title:

Department/Supervisor:

Date of Interview:

1. How similar were your actual internship tasks and responsibilities to your expectations for the role?

2. What skills or experiences did you gain from your experience?

3. How well did your experience provide information about your chosen field?

4. What was the best or most rewarding part of your internship experience?

5. What was the worst or most challenging part of your internship experience?

6. Do you feel that you received sufficient support and guidance to succeed in your role? Did you receive sufficient training and orientation? Please explain.

7. Please rate your overall internship experience on a scale from 1 - 10 (1 being the Lowest, 10 being the Highest).

8. Did you feel like you were a part of the [Name of Library] team? Please explain.

9. Would you recommend [Name of Library] to other students for an internship assignment? Why or why not?

10. What advice might you give future [Name of Library] interns so they can get as much or more out of the experience?

11. What suggestions do you have for improving the overall internship program?

12. Are there other areas involving the internship program, your supervisor, or your internship role that you wish to comment on? l

1. Based on and content borrowed from “Documents/Forms for Your Internship Program” and “Student Evaluation” by campus2careers: http://campus2careers.com/portals/0/Internship%20Forms%20from%20campus2careers.doc


http://campus2careers.com/portals/0/Internship%20Forms%20from%20campus2careers.doc


Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success Appendix T 77

Appendix T: Sample Supervisor Evaluation Form1

Intern Evaluation

[Name of Library]

Name:

Internship Title:

Evaluation Completed by:

Please provide your evaluation of this student’s performance or skill level in each of the following areas. This evaluation is not confidential and you are encouraged to share it with the student.

A. Skills AssessmentOn a scale of 1-5, please evaluate the intern’s performance and skill level in each of the following areas.

5 (Exceptional)4 (Above Average)3 (Adequate/Average)2 (Limited/Minimal)1 (Lacks this skill)NA (Not applicable)

1. Communication Skills a. Demonstrates oral communication skills required for the job b. Writes clearly and concisely c. Is willing to speak up, communicates information, and asks questions d. Listens to feedback and works to improve area

2. Problem Solving/Decision Making Skills a. Analyzes situations and takes appropriate action b. Offers creative solutions to problems c. Collects and analyzes information relevant to completing a task and establishes a course of action within the given timeframe d. Resolves problems in an appropriate timeframe

3. Teamwork a. Establishes rapport and credibility among team members

1. Based on and content borrowed from Sample Final Assessment developed by Lock Haven University: http://www.lhup.edu/careerservices/Internships/Employers/files/Manual.pdf - and - “Documents/Forms for Your Internship Program” by campus2careers: http://campus2careers.com/portals/0/Internship%20Forms%20from%20campus2careers.doc


http://campus2careers.com/portals/0/Internship%20Forms%20from%20campus2careers.doc

Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success Appendix T 78

b. Shares information and resources with others c. Assists and cooperates with co-workers d. Demonstrates willingness to put forth extra time and effort e. Assumes appropriate leadership roles(s)

4. Self-management a. Produces high-quality, accurate work b. Seeks new strategies when current approach is not effective c. Displays good judgment and establishes priorities d. Uses time efficiently e. Demonstrates ethical behavior f. Arrives on time and maintains agreed hours

5. Initiative a. Seeks opportunities to learn b. Takes initiative to get a job done, even if not specifically told to do so c. Acts decisively on critical issues d. Overcomes obstacles and problems e. Sets and communicates goals; follows up with results

6. Technical Skills a. Possesses the technical skills required for this position b. Is willing to learn new skills and enhance existing technical skills c. Uses appropriate technology for tasks d. Uses technology to perform effectively

C. Overall Evaluation1. How would you assess the overall value of this intern to the library? c very valuable c somewhat valuable c very limited value c no value

2. How would you assess this intern’s overall performance? c outstanding c above average c satisfactory c below average c unsatisfactory

3. What would you describe as the intern’s top skills and strengths?

4. How did this intern most improve his/her skills? In what areas did you notice the most learning?

5. In what areas does the intern still need to improve?

6. Was this intern prepared for the internship? Why or why not?

7. Please share one story or example of how the intern contributed to the library.

8. Are there other areas involving the internship program or this intern that you wish to comment on? l



Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success Appendix U 79

Appendix U: Internship Management Checklist1

Getting Ready F Assess your library’s readiness for interns

F Make the case for your library to host interns

Developing the Program F Determine your intern program infrastructure

F Develop goals and a vision for your internship program

F Craft policies and procedures

F Brainstorm potential internship roles and projects

F Develop internship position descriptions for available roles

F Create an internship application

F Create an internship agreement form

F Create an internship handbook

Finding an Intern F Determine your audience for recruiting potential interns

F Decide if you will seek interns year-round or during specific recruitment windows

F Identify where you will advertise for interns

F Craft recruitment messages and/or materials

F Consider developing a partnership with a university or college

Screening and Selection F Review and screen applications

F Complete background checks (where needed)

F Contact applicant references

F Interview promising applicants

F Determine whether/how to engage an applicant

Training Interns F Develop an in-person or online orientation for incoming interns


Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success Appendix U 80

F Provide orientation to new interns

F Discuss and review internship expectations, goals, and deliverables

F Develop and/or find relevant trainings for new interns

F Facilitate training of new interns

F Consider offering training to staff internally

Facilitating Intern On-the-Job Learning F Establish mutual expectations with new interns

F Develop internal professional development opportunities for interns

F Explore university-based options for intern professional development

F Identify potential community or web-based professional development options

F Mutually create plan for facilitating intern learning throughout the internship

F Facilitate intern/staff job-shadowing opportunities

Mentoring, Shadowing, and Supervision F Determine ongoing internship management roles

F Assign management roles per individual internship

F Prepare for the first supervisor/mentor meeting with a new intern

F Mutually determine communications/check in methods with the intern

F Develop a plan or series of steps to take in the event of conflict

F Talk to human resources staff persons about how and when to let an intern go

Recognition and Evaluation F Determine methods for ongoing informal recognition

F Determine methods for formal recognition

F Recognize your interns!

F Develop strategies for ongoing evaluation of your interns

F Create a Mid-Intern Evaluation

F Craft a formal evaluation for your interns, supervisors, and internship program

F Conduct formal evaluations of interns and supervisors at the end of each internship

F Conduct a formal evaluation of the program at least once per year.

F Share the results of your evaluation internally and/or externally. l



Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success Appendix V 81

Appendix V: Internship Program Calendar Templates

Sample Twelve-Month Calendar

JanuaryBegin internal needs assessment to determine roles and projects for incoming interns

FebruaryComplete internal needs assessment to determine roles and projects for incoming interns

MarchDevelop position descriptions + begin recruitment

AprilComplete recruitment + screen/interview applicants

MayInternship(s) begin, including training + orientation

JuneInternships ongoing

JulyInternships ongoing

AugustInternships completed

SeptemberInternships evaluated

OctoberImprovements made to internshipprogram per evaluations

NovemberImprovements made to internshipprogram per evaluations

DecemberImprovements made to internshipprogram per evaluations

Sample Weekly Calendar

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5Week 1 • Introductions

• Orientation• Orientation • Staff meeting • Welcome lunch • Reflection

Week 2 • Discuss projects • Weekly check-in • Reflection

Week 3 • Staff meeting • Weekly check-in • Reflection

Week 4 • Projects check-in • Weekly check-in • Reflection

Week 5 • Staff meeting • Weekly check-in • Reflection

Week 6 • Evaluation (mid) • Weekly check-in • Reflection

... • Weekly check-in • Reflection

Week 12 • Projects review • Evaluation (final) • Presentation • Celebrate!



Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success Appendix W 82

Appendix W: Ten Concerns of Interns1

1. Give us real work!It can’t be said too many times that interns want to work and learn. An internship can help you get a job done that you couldn’t otherwise, right? If you’ve brought on an intern as a recruitment tool, then how will you be able to assess their abilities? It just makes sense to utilize your interns well.

2. Do what you say, and say what you do!Be honest with your interns about what they can expect during their internship. If the job will require stuffing some envelopes, then make that clear. But if you tell the intern they will be researching a project, and they spend 90% of their time doing “grunt work,” then bad feelings will develop. Honesty doesn’t cost you anything, and it will make the interns feel that much more respected.

3. We like feedback!Remember that interns are students, and they may not have the business skills and experi-ences that you take for granted. If your intern makes an oversight, just pull him or her aside and explain how the situation should be handled in the future.

4. We want to be included too!Is there a staff meeting that they can attend? Can they quietly tag along to that next proj-ect meeting? Headed to lunch with a couple of people in the office? Please include them in the daily life of your workplace. After all, if you provide a little more perspective on the intern’s work, the product will be much better.

5. Please explain.When you assign work, make sure you give a detailed explanation. While the work may seem trivial and obvious to you, it may not be obvious to someone who’s never done it before. Patience and a few extra minutes at the beginning will pay off later when your intern can produce good work independently.

6. I want a mentor!Make sure that interns have a mentor or supervisor to provide guidance. Make it some-one who truly likes to teach, and the experience will be even better.

7. A minute of your time please.The best mentor in the world is useless if he or she can’t or won’t spend the necessary time mentoring. As newcomers, interns may not speak up if they’re feeling ignored, so the

1. From “Starting and Maintaining a Quality Internship Program” by Messiah College and the Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania

Effective Library Internships: A Toolkit for Success Appendix W 83

burden of making sure they’re okay is on the mentor. If the busiest person in the office wants to be the designated mentor, he or she should schedule regular times to meet with the intern.

8. Be prepared!That wonderful day has arrived and the intern goes to start their internship only to learn that no one knew they were coming, and there is no place for them to work.

9. Um…I need a chair.It is amazing how many employers hire an intern and don’t think about the fact that they will need a desk, chair, phone and a computer in order to do the task assigned. It is no fun, and not efficient to move an intern from desk to desk as people are out one day to the next. If you want to get a job done, you need to supply the intern with the tools to do the job.

10. Show me the money (as best you can).While each internship is different, and each industry has its own personality, remember that interns have expenses. Your organization may not be in a position to pay much, but anything can help. Maybe you can help pay for their parking, take them to lunch every so often, or develop some other creative way to assist them. l

