Growing a Mutually-Beneficial Digital Curation Internship Program that is Sustainable and Low Cost

Abstract

Digital curation is a fast-growing subfield of librarianship and archival management. The number of calls for digital curation positions that often require advanced knowledge of multimedia digitization practices, metadata standards, digital asset management systems and project management strategies has increased significantly over the past few years. Yet, Library and Information Science (LIS) programs rarely prepare students adequately in these disciplines. Meanwhile, digital departments are expected to sustain and grow digital collections in the face of system-wide budget reductions. Many departments are operating with fewer staff and resources than ever before. The Digital Services Department at the University of Houston Libraries (UHDS) is one such department. In response, the UHDS Internship Program was designed to provide a comprehensive digital curation experience for library school students while providing the UHDS Department with a steady, low-cost base of intern workers. This paper outlines in detail the steps taken to establish a mutually-beneficial digital curation internship program including motivations behind the decisions, results and lessons learned.