Archival Internships: Creating Real World Learning Beyond the Classroom

This purpose of this article is to show the value of archival internships in Special Collections and University Archives, Wichita State University Libraries. Internships create real world learning opportunities for students in the graduate Public History Program who have taken the introduction to archives course. Students gain valuable hands-on experience processing some or all of a manuscript collection under the supervision and mentoring of the Curator of Special Collections. The repository benefits by addressing its backlog of unprocessed materials. In a time of staffing shortages, it is essential to devise innovative practices that solve the problem of managing work flow without compromising standards. The elements of setting up and implementing a successful archival internship are also applicable to library internships in academic or public libraries.