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WKU Archives - Internship / Volunteer Opportunities & Projects


WKU Archives Logo

  

 

   We need you!

  

 

WKU Archives has an extensive collection of materials originating from WKU offices and donated from students and alumni.  Work as much or as little as your schedule permits. Projects vary in length and detail as we try to match our collections with your interests.

Become an Intern [minimum of 80 hours]:  

  1. Review internship projects
  2.   
  3. Match with your major / minor requirements
  4.   
  5. Apply online   

Become a Volunteer Now! [minimum of 40 hours]

  1. Review volunteer projects 
  2. Commit. We count on our volunteers to work the dates and times they sign up for. 
  3. Apply online

Intern / Volunteer from Home

Ask us about transcribing oral histories and other audio materials from home.

Rewards of Internship / Volunteering

  • Build resume
  • Course credit
  • Help the students and researchers
  • Learn new skills
  • Awards

WKU Archives is located in the Kentucky Building which has its own parking lot open to the public.  Volunteer opportunities are available Mon. - Fri. 9 - 4. 

For more information please contact us at: 

WKU Archives
Bowling Green, Kentucky 42101-3576
phone 270-745-5083 or archives@wku.edu.


 

Internship / Volunteer Projects: 

Exhibits
Indexing Projects
Processing Collections
Scanning
Transcription 
WKU Timeline
Develop Your Own Project

pop up exhibit


 Exhibits

WKU Archives exhibits come in four sizes: Pop-Ups*, Single Case, Two Cases and Full Gallery. The last three include an online component.  Intern / volunteer would be responsible for the following tasks:

  • choosing a topic
  • identifying through research items to be included
    • documents
    • photographs
    • objects
  • digitizing documents, photographs
  • photographing objects 
  • researching and writing labels and descriptions to provide context
  • writing exhibit overview for online exhibits 

*Pop-Up exhibits are light weight, portable exhibits that we take to other buildings on campus or use for off-campus events.  


J. Lewie Harmon Diary

Indexing Project

WKU Archives has some collections which include personal diaries and scrapbooks.  Indexing must be done in order to make them more accessible to the public. Indexing involves:

  • reading the diary / scrapbook
  • compiling lists of:
    • names 
    • events 
    • subjects 

Current collections available for this work include:

  • J. Lewie Harmon's diaries for the period 1924; 1931-1940; 1957, intern would be responsible for completing one diary
  • President Office scrapbooks, 1906-1969, intern would be responsible for completing at least one scrapbook
  • E.A. Diddle scrapbooks re: WKU basketball 

Processing Collections

  Processing collections consists of the following tasks:

  • reviewing all materials in the collection 
  • organizing like items together and arranging in order, such as
    • meeting minutes
    • brochures
    • correspondence
    • photographs
    • scrapbooks
  • writing descriptions of items 
  • data entry in online catalog
  • researching and writing brief history of creating
    • person
    • department
    • club / organization
  • publishing online collection inventory with authorship credit

Collections to be processed include:

  • athletics
  • student clubs / organizations 
  • faculty / staff papers
  • alumni papers
  • photograph collections
  • faculty / staff organizations 
  • departmental records

Scanning

WKU Archives is actively digitizing photographs, documents and items from microfilm for inclusion in TopScholar.   Intern / volunteer would be responsible for:

  • digitizing images as requested by archivists
  • digitizing documents as requested by archivists
  • description of items and data entry in online catalog

Transcription 

audiotapesWKU Archives holds hundreds of audiotapes of oral history interviews, radio broadcasts, press conferences and other events.  These tapes need to be transcribed in order to make them more accessible to researchers. Transcribing involves the following:

  • choosing a tape of interest
  • loading wav file to computer
  • using Word to transcribe the audio into WKU Archives format which will be provided

Transcription work can be done remotely or in the archives.  See an example of a transcription


 WKU Timeline

WKU Archives is in the process of creating a new interactive timeline of WKU history.  This timeline will incorporate people, buildings, events and departments.  Intern / volunteer would be responsible for:

  • researching significant people - presidents, administrators, students, alumni - and writing brief biographical notes
  • researching and writing building histories
  • researching locations of non-extant buildings 
  • researching and writing brief notes regarding significant events
  • creating timeline entries using computer software
  • connecting entries to time and place in the software
  • digitization of images or documents as needed to include in entries

Develop Your Own Project

WKU students can develop an internship related to their major / minor using the resources of the WKU Archives.  Disciplines represented in the WKU Archives include but are not limited to: 

  • African American Studies
  • Architecture
  • Archival Studies 
  • Communication
  • Curriculum and Social Inquiry
  • Educational Leadership
  • Geography
  • History 
  • Journalism
  • Marketing
  • Political Science
  • Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration
  • Religion
  • Sports Studies
  • Urban, Community and Regional Planning
  • Women's Studies

Don't see your discipline here?  Ask us!


Website updated 11/27/2017


Some of the links on this page may require additional software to view.

 Last Modified 12/5/18