Projects for Introductory Field Experiences

Ideal projects for introductory field experiences involve a small processing project (less than 5 linear feet). However, projects do vary in size and scope as the needs of sites vary. Students enrolled in LIS 438 may or may not have any prior experience working in archives. We consider a student’s experience level when matching students with sites and projects.

Project Requirements:

All students need to be supervised by a professional while on site
- Supervisors cannot be volunteers
All work completed by students must be professional in nature
- No menial, sub-, or para-professional work is appropriate (e.g., getting coffee)
Compensation is not required but is not prohibited.
All projects are subject to approval by the SLIS Field Experience Manager.

Examples of past introductory field experiences include:

Processing and creating a finding aid in ArchivesSpace at a university archives
Processing the papers of a city employee for a history room at a local public library
Processing genealogical records at a town historical society
Working with the processing team at an archival consulting company
Processing a doctor and professor’s papers at a local hospital’s archives
Processing artists’ books at an art institute
Processing city park plans at a city archives
Processing a small manuscript collection at a museum archives
Processing records at an architectural firm’s archives

Project Deliverables

Students are asked to produce a deliverable at the end of their field experience. This deliverable can take many forms: a finding aid, item level metadata, inventories, catalog records, etc. If you or your student(s) have a question about the deliverable, please ask them to consult their course instructor for more guidance.

Field Experience Grading

The field experience work is worth 25% of a student’s final LIS 438 course grade. This grade is based on their contract, midpoint report, and final reflection with deliverables, as well as your supervisor evaluations.