Internship Opportunity!

New illustration of the sexual system of Carolus von Linnaeus

Be a Marketing Intern for BHL! Are you a library student or recent graduate? Do you love biodiversity, writing, and old books? Love to blog, tweet, and post on Facebook? Then our new internship opportunity, hosted through the Smithsonian Libraries, is perfect for you! Learn more and apply today! Virtual work options are available. https://library.si.edu/internships/bhl-marketing

Project Title: Biodiversity Heritage Library Marketing Intern

Dates preferred: Spring or Summer 2013

Full time or Part time: Part time

Location of internship: National Museum of Natural History (Washington, DC); virtual work options also available.

Desired knowledge/skill sets (include education level): Students pursing a Library and Information Science Masters or recent graduates. Strong writing and research skills a must. Students with a demonstrated interest in a biological sciences subject specialty, reference librarianship, digital librarianship, and/or library marketing are strongly encouraged to apply.

Brief description of project: The Biodiversity Heritage Library, an open access digital library of natural history literature (http://biodiversitylibrary.org/), seeks an intern to help tell the story of life on earth within the context of the historical biological literature to benefit the BHL blog (https://blog.biodiversitylibrary.org). Interns will conduct research on the publication history of a given species or natural history event, such as a scientific expedition or breakthrough discovery, and communicate these findings in writing to demonstrate the relevance of the BHL collection to modern audiences. Interns will work closely with BHL Outreach and Collections staff to perform an environmental scan of competitive biodiversity related blogs as well as generate ideas to reinvent or create new blog series. Where appropriate, interns will repurpose their research on associated BHL outreach platforms, including Twitter and Facebook.

Interns will have the opportunity to:

• Begin to develop a subject specialty in the biological sciences, gaining a deep knowledge of some of the monumental publications that have shaped biodiversity knowledge.
• Improve their written communication and research skills.
• Conduct an environmental scan and summarize results for BHL project leadership.
• Increase their understanding of digital library oriented marketing strategies, exploring how blog posts serve as a cornerstone to BHL’s efforts with various social media platforms.
• Perform analysis of blog audience demographics and readership metrics.
• Learn about the BHL’s book digitization workflows, collection development activities, digital library web services, and the importance of open access and open data within the bioinformatics context.
• Develop teamwork and interpersonal skills in a fast-paced, multitasking, professional library environment.

Please note: This is an unpaid internship.

To apply, please visit the Smithsonian Online Academic Appointment Sytem (https://solaa.si.edu). Select “Smithsonian Institution Libraries” as unit and “Smithsonian Institution Libraries Internship Program” as program. Project will remain open until filled.

You can send questions regarding the internship to feedback@biodiversitylibrary.org.