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Form of work
SalaryArchives & Collections Intern
The Archives and Collections department at the Motown Museum seeks graduate interns to assist staff with preservation and access projects. For the Summer 2024 semester, there are several projects in preparation for moving the entire Museum collection to a new storage facility in Fall 2024. In addition to working on the assigned projects, the intern(s) will have an opportunity to meet with various staff from the Curatorial and Archives & Collections departments to learn more about their career paths and roles at the Motown Museum.
Project #1: Sorting and condition reporting vinyl records
The intern(s) will work directly with the 12? vinyl record collection to identify the records found in good condition, and separating them from the records in poor condition. Objects deemed acceptable for the Museum?s prop and study collections will be rehoused and inventoried, while duplicate objects that have poor condition issues will be deaccessioned and destroyed.
Project #2: Preparing for a collections move
The intern(s) will work with staff to prepare collections materials for transport and relocation to a new storage facility. Interns will identify collection formats (paper, photographs, textiles, instruments, film, etc.), match the formats to the new vault locations, and prepare a transportation inventory for moving the materials between the two locations.
Project Goals
Selecting artifacts and identifying the various formats found in a Museum collection.
Completing inventories and cataloging collection records.
Conducting condition reports and implementing basic preservation strategies, such as rehousing materials, as well as isolating materials for deaccession and destruction.
Preparing collections for transportation to a new storage facility.
Learning about various career paths and positions within the Curatorial and Archives & Collections departments.
Learning Objectives
Collection stewardship best practices surrounding the preservation of and access to museum collections, including:
environment and storage requirements for museum collections;
condition issues surrounding grooved media;
inventory, cataloging, and description of artifacts;
preparing collections for transportation;
researching archival materials and historical records.
Exposure to museum career paths, including preservation, cataloging, archival processing, curation, research services, digital curation, digitization, and project management.
