Northwest ArchivistsArchivist-in-Residence Program

Criteria

The following criteria for comparison and selection of applications to the Archivist-in-Residence Program are informed by the Society of American Archivists Best Practices for Internships as a Component of Graduate Archival Education as well as the National Association of Colleges and Employers Position Statement regarding U.S. Internships.

Host OrganizationIn order for an organization to be eligible to host an Archivist-in-Residence under this program, it must meet the following criteria:

1. The host organization must be an institution or agency responsible for the custody, study, teaching, control, or use of records, archives, and/or personal papers. Under this definition, records and archives may also include digital, audio, and audiovisual materials.

2. The host organization must be within the geographic region covered by Northwest Archivists membership (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington).

3. The host organization must provide the resident with an onsite supervisor. The supervisor must be an individual with sufficient training or experience in archives to ensure that the resident is exposed to methods and procedures consistent with the best practices in the field. The supervisor will meet regularly with the resident to answer questions and provide feedback, and will report residency outcomes to the NWA Archivist-in-Residence Committee at the end of the residency.

4. The host organization must provide all necessary resources, equipment, and facilities, including an adequate workstation for the resident. No portion of the stipend, which will be paid directly to the resident, may be used to purchase equipment or supplies.

Preference will be given to organizations that can show:1. An ongoing commitment to equitable treatment of students and new professionals.

2. Current or past participation in Northwest Archivists or an equivalent regional or national professional organization dedicated to historical or cultural preservation and/or education.

ResidentTo qualify for residency, applicants must meet the following criteria:

1. Currently enrolled in a graduate-level program or have graduated from such a program within two years of the application date.

2. Propose a project based on their educational background and that contributes to the host organization (e.g. archives, museums, libraries, and other cultural heritage organizations).

3. Demonstrate applicability of proposed project to the applicant’s career goals or aspirations.

Project CriteriaApplications must include a project description, to be developed jointly by the applicant and their host organization. The project proposal will factor heavily into the selection process; the application should indicate clear communication of expectations between the applicant and the host organization, as well as a set of expectations for meaningful work and definable project outcomes.

Preference will be given to projects that fulfill the following criteria:1. Strengthens or introduces new skills relevant to the resident’s educational needs

and career goals, and develops the resident’s understanding of how archival theories and methods are applied in practice.

2. Includes clearly defined learning objectives related to the resident’s professional goals and/or current coursework.

3. Serves a need within the host organization and/or enhances the archives profession. Examples include collections work (processing, preserving, digitization, or describing archival collections), institutional planning (drafting preservation plans or metadata guidelines), or research into topics related or beneficial to the archival profession.

4. Provides the resident an opportunity to produce a complete work product or play a significant role in a group project. The project should be designed so the resident can later refer to their discrete role and accomplishment when applying for employment.

5. Does not include routine work to support the general operations of the host organization outside of that which is necessary for the completion of the resident’s discrete project and that which is demonstrably beneficial to the resident as a

learning experience. This program is not intended to support collections-based historical or genealogical research.

The NWA Paid Internship Committee would like to thank NWA membership and our Gold-level sponsors for their support of the Archivist-in-Residence program.