The Henry Ford's Simmons Internship Program is designed for current graduate students pursuing careers in museums, historical agencies, conservation labs, or related fields. This internship provides participants with a great opportunity to gain in-depth work experience in a major American history museum. Simmons interns are awarded stipends for a minimum 12-week full-time internship. Starting and ending dates for individual internships are negotiable. _The Simmons Internship Program is funded by the Vera W. and Walter E. Simmons Endowment Fund. _

2023 Simmons Graduate Internship Opportunities

• The Lillian F. Schwartz Archives: Curatorial Content Development & Research Internship
• The Lillian F. Schwartz Archives: Collections Processing Internship
• Organization and Processing of the Stumpf Office and Home Library

Please continue reading to learn more about the SCHWARTZ COLLECTIONS PROCESSING INTERNSHIP. 

The Lillian F. Schwartz Archives: Collections Processing Internship

In 2021, The Henry Ford acquired the papers of Lillian Schwartz, a sprawling archival collection that includes paper-based records, 2D artworks, moving image and audio materials, and electronic records, in addition to numerous books and 3D artworks placed in the holdings of the Library and Museum. 

The custodial history of the archival collection has resulted in the lack of a coherent and unifying inventory, making immediate access difficult. In addition, the lack of a suitable inventory presents a roadblock to further and more in-depth processing of the materials. The Archives and Library seek a Simmons Intern to assist in furthering the assessment, inventorying, and processing of this collection in order to improve its serviceability and findability for our internal and external researchers. 

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: Working with the Archives Team onsite at the Benson Ford Research Center, the duties of the intern will include:

• Finishing partially complete box-level inventory for main portion of collection.
• Conducting shelf inventory for A/V portion of collection.
• Conducting drive-level inventory of electronic records found in the collection.
• Conducting folder-level inventory of artworks stored in flat file units.
• Creation of summary collection inventory that can be utilized by researchers.
• Create a capstone presentation of completed work.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Interest in gaining experience with description and access of archival collections.
• Understanding of archival description standards and practices including Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS).
• Strong writing and communication skills, and attention to detail.
• Current enrollment in a graduate-level program.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Interest or education in computer-mediated and new media art.  
• Prior archival arrangement and description experience.
• Experience using an archival or museum collections management system.

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