PAID INTERNSHIP - Digitization Intern [FOUNDERS HALL AT GIRARD COLLEGE]
Founder’s Hall is a museum operating within Girard College, a full scholarship boarding school for economically disadvantaged youth. It preserves and shares the history of the unique institution and its founder, Stephen Girard (1750-1831), a merchant, banker, and philanthropist whose multi-million fortune went to improving educational opportunities for orphans. The Founder’s Hall building, which was constructed 1833-1847 as the first school classrooms, is an impressive 100-foot high landmark building inspired by Greek temples.
The museum collections include 100,000 pages of papers from Stephen Girard, the uniquely preserved contents of his home, including furniture, silver, and even his carriage; and over 175-years’ worth of collections chronicling the history of school, from photographs to pennants and books to cookies (yes, real cookies), including collections documenting the historic struggle to desegregate Girard College.
Intern Responsibilities:
- The Digitization Intern will work under the Director of Historical Resources to digitize a large collection of slides taken by Girard College’s long time staff photographer, who retired in 2022 after over 40 years at the school.
- The intern will scan images, record metadata and conduct research.
- Develop social media posts and an online exhibition based on this collection.
- The intern will also participate in the general life of the museum, including attending meetings and assisting with other projects as needed.
Qualifications:
- The Digitization Intern will need good attention to detail, organizational skills, and the ability to perform repetitive tasks (scanning).
- They should be self-motivated and capable of working independently.
- Previous experience working with databases and/or photo editing are a plus, but not required.
- Prior knowledge of Girard or of educational history is not needed for this position, but the intern should have a desire to learn about museum practice and a willingness/ability to conduct research and learn about a new subject area.
- The intern will work directly with a collection that is housed on the second floor of a historic building that does not have an elevator. The intern must be able to climb stairs, since the museum is located on the second floor of a historic building with no elevator.
- As a school, Girard College requires criminal background checks (FBI and Pennsylvania), child abuse clearance, and substance abuse testing of any applicant offered employment.
- In addition, all Girard College employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, unless they have an approved medical or religious exemption.