LIS 5823 1

UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA
SCHOOL OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION STUDIES

LIS 5823
INTERNSHIP

STUDENT EVALUATION

Date: 8/4/2017

Student: Aaron B. Pope ID No.: 112853424

Placement Supervisor: Marc Carlson

Library/Information Center: University of Tulsa, Special Collections & University

Archives

Supervising Faculty Member: Dr. Betsy Martens

Respond to the following (attach answers). Return responses to the Supervising Faculty
Member.

1. Were you adequately oriented to the internship experience by the supervising

faculty member, the internship documents, and the placement supervisor?
Describe. Yes I was. On our first meeting together Dr. Martens and Marc both
explained to me what the collection was about and how I would be contributing to the
Special Collections department by reconfirming what was in the archival finding aid,
fixing the issues that might have arisen in the first processing and continuing on with
documenting the collection. Through their explanations I felt that not only was the
something I was capable of doing but also a project I would enjoy as well. The
documentation explained all the parameters of the internship and what was expected of
me as a student and a contributing member of the TU Special Collections and
University archives team.

2. Specify the variety of internship activities engaged in, indicating the value of
each with respect to the stated objectives of your internship. Foremost, let me say
that I am walking away from this internship with a more richer and enlightened viewpoint
of what archival work entails. I feel like although there is far more to the job of Archival
work than I could grasp in only 135 hours, I do feel however, I have learn a great deal
from my time in my internship at TU and from Mr. Marc Carlson himself and from his
knowledge and experiences. While working on The Naipaul Collection I learned so
many important skills and knowledge that one needs while working in an archival
position.

I learned how to assess a collection that might be partially documented, I also learned
how to pay attention to the finer details of documentation.

I also learned how crucial it is when documenting a collection that the information be
correct and easily findable. If the information is not correct for even if, lets say, the
location of an item. If the wrong location is documented then the item becomes
practically lost in the sea of archives.

I learned the importance of having a finding aid that is understandable for both the
archivist and the researcher alike. This helps both to communicate more fully of what
the researcher would like to see and it helps the archivist more easily track down the
materials that the researcher wants to go through.

I learned that archival work sometimes takes a bit of researcher when dealing with the
history of the collection and the creator themselves. You start with the materials and
gain some knowledge from the, whatever can be gained, however sometimes it takes a
more in-depth approach to fill in the gaps of knowledge that might be left by what the
materials did not mention.

I have learned, as odd as it might sound, the joys of small successes. I really enjoyed
fixing the issues that were discovered within the collection. When those issues were
fixed it felt like small victories that hopefully will make a big difference in the use of the
collection itself both for the research and the archivists themselves.

I learned the use of archival software like Archivist Toolkit which are significantly
important for organizing and maintaining a well-kept archive and needed for
documenting all the collections in.

I also saw the value of good team work and having a support system to help one
another when it is needed. To have a team of people you can rely on and work well with
is not only a blessing but a comfort as well.

These are some of the areas that my work entailed. Assessing the collections finding
aid and search through the boxes and make sure the information is correct. Fix any
issues that might arise while assessing the collection. Document that changes that
might have been made on the finding aid. Once completed through the finding aid
continue on documenting the items that have not been processed and make sure to
process those items correctly and thoroughly. I also had other side jobs like helping
assist Marc when a staff member was giving a part of their records collection to the
university and to the special collections in particular.
3. Which LIS or other courses were most helpful in preparing you for this
experience? Identify any areas where additional preparation would have been
helpful. One course in particular that was a major help to me while working on The
Naipaul collection was the LIS 5463: Archival Representation and Use class by Dr.
Gerth. There was a lot to the finding aid which I didn’t quite understand and ironically
enough this class discussed those very same bits of information. So when I started
documenting the collection for TU I felt that I understand what most of the parts of the
finding aid were for. I tried my best to follow those instructions the best way I knew how.
So this was a hugely helpful class to take alongside my internship. Had I not had this
class at the same time I think some additional preparation for this internship, which
would have been beneficial, is an explanation of the parts of the finding aid that were
most important and what to document in those areas. Also, I came across abbreviations
within the original documentation for the finding aid which was not explained to me what
they meant. However, I did google it and found on The University of Iowa website and
explanation of abbreviations of archival work like ALS, TLS, pc and cc, just to name a
few. Although these are no longer used in most modern archives, there are a lot of
archivists who have used those abbreviations, like within the Naipaul Finding aid, and
so it would have been beneficial to have an explanation of those abbreviation. I believe,
to the best of my recollection, this was the only additional preparation that would have
been hugely helpful that I did not receive beforehand.

4. Based on an assessment of your specific needs, what were the most positive
aspects of this internship? There are so many parts to this I couldn’t list them all.
However, I believe working on Marc was one of the top best. He is an amazing man
with a store house of knowledge and experience that is like tapping into gold when we
spoke and talked together. I believe finally feeling like I became a part of the team was
super amazing. I really enjoyed working with Milissa, Jenn, Melissa. They were always
super helpful in I needed anything and I was grateful for all their help! I believe this
experience in itself is one of the most positive parts of the whole thing. I feel like I have
a better understanding of what archival work entails and I feel like when I get ready to
go into the field I will be better prepared to handle what might come my way.

5. How could this internship have been improved? Would you recommend an
internship with this institution to another student? First of all I would CERTAINLY
recommend an internship with this institution to another student. It was so beneficial to
my education that I know they would also gain much from working with this group of
knowledgeable professionals. I am not quite sure how it could have been improved. The
only issues I really had at the beginning was feeling a bit under prepared for tackling the
collection at first because I didn’t know really what to do. I knew the instructions but
there were still a lot of questions that I had to ask in the meantime to gain the
information to really get going. Once I did received the information I needed and the
confirmation that I was doing it correctly that gave the courage to keep forging on. I
believe that and the explanation about the abbreviations are pretty much the only thing I
could think of.
6. Appraise the guidance given by the placement supervisor in providing
opportunities for meaningful work experiences. I believe that all the work that Marc
gave me was both professional and essential for a future archivist to learn. I believe all
the work I was given from assessing the collection, correction and documenting the
collection and helping with the side jobs were all essential parts of working in an
archive. From what I could survey from the Special Collection Librarians they were
doing much the same thing we were except some of their jobs included things like
creating presentations for events, preparing a specific collection for a coming
researcher, preserving specific materials that needed a little extra TLC. Things of this
nature but they all were also working on processing parts of the archive in one way or
another. I felt that we were all one team working towards a goal and so I feel I was
given the same work and experiences that all the rest had received. I also felt that
Marc’s conversations with me where hugely beneficial as well because not only did it
make working in the special collections/university archives more personal, I believed
that through our conversations I was able to glean little nuggets of experience/wisdom
which I hope to take with me and also use those things for my future interactions with
special collections and archives and those who use those archives or contribute to
them. This internship was immensely beneficial, rewarding and educational all around
and I definitely recommend an internship here to anyone!

Evaluate the effectiveness of the communication among you, the placement

supervisor, and supervising faculty member with regard to the accomplishments
and problems of the internship.

I believe are communication were very clear and thorough. Although all three of us did
not communicate verbally much, because there was never a problem that arose that
need it. I still felt that my blog kept everyone aware of how I was feeling and how the
collection development was going for the most part. I felt that my e-mails to both Dr.
Marten s and Marc were always read in a timely manner and responded to and I felt that
I was being heard by all parties involved. Dr. Martens always commented on some of
my blog posts which was nice because I felt like I was receive a lot of beneficial
feedback and I knew she was also enjoying reading those blog posts. Marc and I would
have small conversations either in his office or around my work area about how things
were progressing and I always felt encouraged after these meetings and it gave me
more determination to do my best for the institution, for the internship and for Marc as
well.