HBCU Library Alliance Summer 2023 Conservation/Preservation Intern Program
The Winterthur University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, in partnership with the HBCU Library Alliance, received a sixth round of funding to coordinate a six-week fully-funded summer internship in library and archives preservation during 2023, at nationally-recognized library preservation/conservation laboratories for seven interns. Winterthur’s Melissa Tedone, Ph.D., Lab Head for Library Materials Conservation, is the Primary Investigator for this project.
Thanks to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, the University of Delaware College of Arts and Science, the Department of Art Conservation at the University of Delaware, and the Winterthur Museum, Garden, and Library (DE) for funding this internship project. Thanks to former Board member Debbie Hess Norris, University of Delaware, for securing this funding.
Summer internships will take place between June and mid-July 2023, with exact dates to be decided upon by the intern and their host site. Over the course of six weeks, interns will participate in Zoom cohort learning sessions coordinated and hosted by Winterthur/University of Delaware. Interns will spend 4 weeks on site at their host institutions, supplementing the virtual classroom experience with hands-on training.
The seven students and host sites are…
Aryana Derritt, Fisk University (TN)
University of Kansas Libraries
Aryana is a freshman Biology major and work-study student in the John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library. She has a passion for learning about history and ensuring that it is shared with others. Aryana believes that there is a story behind every photo and every page in a book. She looks forward to learning new skills and exploring interests outside of her major.
The University of Kansas libraries have 5.6 million items in six campus locations, which see 1.2 million visits every year. The KU Libraries work to transform lives by inspiring the discovery and creation of knowledge for the university and the global community. Conservation Services ensures access to library materials by performing high-quality conservation and preservation treatments and interventions to increase the visibility of preservation within the KU Libraries, the University of Kansas, the state of Kansas, and the nation.
Malachi McMahon, Prairie View A&M University (TX)
The Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas, Austin, TX
Malachi is a sophomore Digital Media & Design major and one of the student workers in the John B. Coleman Library. He has worked on the Digital PV Panther Project since June 2022 and has served as the driving force behind the archival research and blogging on PVAMU’s $447,000 NEH-funded grant. He routinely shares the information that he has learned in compelling blog posts that inform the entire student body about the school’s history. Malachi desires to explore and learn more about digital preservation, organizing archival records and researching archival materials.
The Ransom Center is an internationally renowned humanities research center at The University of Texas at Austin. Its extensive collections provide unique insight into the creative process of some of the finest writers and artists, deepening the understanding and appreciation of literature, photography, film, art, and the performing arts. The Center’s Preservation and Conservation Division provides a full range of preventive and conservation treatment options for the long-term care of its collections.
Mahoghany Moore-Blue, Alabama A&M University
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Mahoghany is a junior Criminal Justice major with a minor in English. She also serves as a work study student in the University Archives & Special Collections and in the State Black Archives Research Center & Museum in the J. F. Drake Memorial Learning Resources Center. Mahoghany aspires to become a law librarian and ultimately an appellate attorney. While learning about her institution, Mahoghany understands that the legacy shaped by the University’s founder could be forgotten without appropriate conservation. Through this internship, she anticipates getting hands-on experience with collection processing, exhibit assembly, and the preservation/conservation of historical resources.
The Harvard University Libraries are the oldest library system in the United States and the world’s largest academic library. With over 20 million physical and digital items, Harvard’s vast collections are renowned for their global reach and depth, with resources spanning the development of all disciplines and more than 460 languages. Harvard collects collaboratively with peer institutions and facilitates international open access, seeking to build a diverse, open corpus of knowledge with scholars and citizens everywhere.
Angela Nettles, Bennett College (NC)
Duke University Libraries, Durham, NC
Angela is a junior Africana Women's Studies major. During her internship with her Bennett’s Archivist Project, she attended a Diversity Archivist Conference at Shaw University (NC) and was fascinated by what she learned from the presenters. The preservation and conservation of her community’s ancestral history is very important to her; particularly, the intersectionality of African American women and their position in society. She is hoping to obtain practical experience in the preservation of a wide range of historical artifacts during this internship.
Duke University Libraries is committed to diversity in its patron communities, services, collections, staff and spaces. One of its guiding principles is to build, maintain, and provide access to an international and multilingual collection, representing the broadest possible spectrum of cultures, ideas, and information. Through innovative and broadly collaborative approaches to the creation, collection, and dissemination of knowledge, Duke University Libraries work to create a future in which the full diversity of the human record is openly accessible.
Comfort Olorundare, Shaw University (NC)
Yale University, New Haven CT
Comfort is a sophomore Biology major who has interned at the Shaw University Archives and Special Collections since March 2022. She has participated in a continuing education course, Introduction to Archives, and received a certificate from the Society of American Archivists. Comfort understands the importance of preserving knowledge and cultural artifacts and believes that this internship will afford her with an opportunity to learn valuable skills and gain hands-on experience in the conservation/preservation field.
Yale University Library has more than a dozen libraries and locations, vast physical collections, and extensive electronic resources. Yale Library’s unique collections, amassed over three centuries and widely used in teaching, are a distinctive feature of a Yale education, together with the collections of Yale’s museums. In continuing to build and steward these collections, Yale has made a commitment to help preserve and disseminate human knowledge, and to find new ways to make the collections accessible to the Yale community and beyond.
Blake Spencer, Howard University (DC)
Yale University, New Haven CT
Blake is a junior Nursing major and has spent the last two semesters as part of the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center Scholars’ (MSRC) Program in both the MSRC’s Library and University Archives Divisions. He has a passion for Black studies and anticipates using this internship to help valorize and diversify history and education. Blake wants to connect with his community as a practitioner of history and a proprietor of historical knowledge.
Yale University Library has more than a dozen libraries and locations, vast physical collections, and extensive electronic resources. Yale Library’s unique collections, amassed over three centuries and widely used in teaching, are a distinctive feature of a Yale education, together with the collections of Yale’s museums. In continuing to build and steward these collections, Yale has made a commitment to help preserve and disseminate human knowledge, and to find new ways to make the collections accessible to the Yale community and beyond.
Christine Yorgbor, Johnson C. Smith University (NC)
Brown University Library, Providence, RI
Christine is a junior Business Administration & Marketing major who is a student assistant in the James B. Duke Memorial Library. She is excited about this amazing opportunity to learn from professionals in some of the most prestigious libraries in the world. Christine wants to gain more experience within the field of librarianship and archives. She plans to pursue a career in library and information studies.
The Brown University Library is a dynamic physical, virtual, and intellectual hub for Brown and a partner in furthering the University’s global mission of leadership and academic excellence. The Library is a place of invention and an engine of collaboration where faculty, staff, and students explore the past, seek to understand the present, and innovate for the future. The Brown University Library advances instruction, learning, and research in the University by providing critical expertise, curated collections, and responsive technology and spaces in an environment of creativity and inclusivity.
Congrats to these distinguished HBCU interns!