Princeton University Library’s Department of Rare Books and Special Collections (RBSC) is excited to offer the Archival Fellowship for Manuscripts Division Collections again this year. The fellowship provides a summer of paid work experience for a current or recent graduate student interested in pursuing an archival career.
Fellowship Description: The 2019 Fellow will primarily gain experience in technical services, with a focus this year on arrangement and description of manuscript collections, including hybrid collections with born-digital and audiovisual materials. Additional projects may include assisting with reference and other public services tasks. The Fellow will work under the guidance of the team of processing staff responsible for collections within RBSC’s Manuscripts Division, including the Lead Processing Archivist, Project Archivist for Americana Manuscripts Collections, Processing Archivist for General Collections, and the Latin American Processing Archivist.
The Manuscripts Division of Rare Books and Special Collections is located in Firestone Library, Princeton University’s main library, and holds over 14,000 linear feet of materials covering five thousand years of recorded history and all parts of the world, with collecting strengths in Western Europe, the Near East, the United States, and Latin America. The Fellow will primarily work with the Division’s expansive literary collections, the papers of former Princeton faculty, and collections relating to the history of the United States during the 18th and 19th centuries.
The ten- to twelve-week fellowship program, which can begin as early as May, provides a stipend of $950 per week. In addition, travel, registration, and hotel costs to the Society of American Archivists’ annual meeting in August will be covered by Princeton.
Requirements: This fellowship is open to current graduate students or recent graduates (within one year of graduation). Applicants must have successfully completed at least twelve graduate semester hours (or the equivalent) applied toward an advanced degree in archives, library or information management, literature, American history/studies, or other humanities discipline, public history, or museum studies; a demonstrated interest in the archival profession; good organizational and communication skills; and the ability to manage multiple projects. At least twelve undergraduate semester hours (or the equivalent) in a humanities discipline and/or foreign language skills (particularly Spanish-language reading skills) are preferred.
The Library highly encourages applicants from under-represented communities to apply.
To apply: Applicants should submit a cover letter, resume, and two letters of recommendation addressed to the processing team at mssdiv@princeton.edu. Applications must be received by Monday, March 4, 2019. Video interviews will be conducted with the top candidates, and the successful candidate will be notified by April 5th.
Please note: University housing will not be available to the successful candidate. Interested applicants should consider their housing options carefully and may wish to consult the online campus bulletin board for more information on this topic.
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER.