Vizcaya Museum and Gardens is a National Historic Landmark Miami, FL

Posted by J Barnes-Mitchell on

 POSITION DESCRIPTION 

ARCHIVES INTERN 

 Vizcaya Museum and Gardens is a National Historic Landmark and accredited museum in Miami, Florida (www.vizcaya.org). Vizcaya Museum and Gardens seeks a graduate student to digitize historic estate correspondence and financial records, and to create associated metadata. The intern will scan historic records, edit images, and create both master digital files (TIFFs) and access and reference files (JPEGs), and will create descriptive metadata for the digital surrogates. The intern will also write one story for publication on Vizcaya’s website, and will write a final report at the end of the semester. This is a temporary project for the spring 2022 semester and includes a $2,500 stipend. The intern reports to the Archivist & Digital Collections Specialist. 

 Vizcaya is owned by Miami-Dade County and is operated by the non-profit Vizcaya Museum and Gardens Trust, Inc. Our mission is to preserve the estate’s cultural and environmental resources to engage people in connecting with the past, understanding the present and shaping the future. Our vision is to position Vizcaya as an enduring, inclusive and innovative place that inspires people to embrace the cultural vitality and environmental sustainability of the world around us. 

 Essential Functions  

  • Digitization of historic records including image capture, image editing, creation of master and access files in accordance with Vizcaya’s digitization plan 
  • Creation of descriptive metadata in accordance with Vizcaya’s digitization plan 
  • The intern will work during regular office hours; weekly hours are flexible but must coincide with Collections staff regular office hours (10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.). 

 Education and Work Experience  

Master’s candidate in library and information science, public history, humanities, museum studies, or a related discipline. 

 Skills and Attributes 

  • Interest in collections management, archives, and historic preservation 
  • Strong organizational skills, especially to track individual files and their status 
  • Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite 
  • Strong time management skills to adhere to a schedule. 
  • Ability to accurately manage files and tasks through verbal and written instructions. 
  • A commitment to an inclusive, welcoming and respectful environment for visitors, volunteers, and employees of diverse backgrounds and needs.  
  • Strong verbal communication skills to ask questions and to seek support from colleagues or a supervisor.   

 Learning Opportunities 

  • Intern will work closely with the Archivist and Digital Collections Specialist in a historic house museum 
  • Intern will learn to work with historic, primary-source textual records 
  • Intern will learn to digitize historic records and create metadata that will allow for enhanced accessibility. 

 To Apply 

Please send resume and cover letter detailing your interest and experience to Karen Urbec at karen.urbec@vizcaya.org no later than December 20, 2021. 

 Work Environment/Physical Demands 

The majority of work is done in an office setting, involving interaction with museum colleagues, work with a computer and flatbed scanner, and work with historic textual records. Reasonable accommodations may be made for individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions. 

 Equal Opportunity Employer 

Vizcaya Museum and Gardens is committed to equity and inclusion and is engaged in a strategic process to ensure that our staff, Board and volunteers reflect our community’s diversity. Vizcaya welcomes applicants from groups that are underrepresented in cultural organizations and seeks to recruit, develop and retain a diverse workforce.  

Vizcaya Museum and Gardens is an equal opportunity employer. Vizcaya respects people of all backgrounds and does not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, pregnancy, childbirth, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, familial status, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, status as a victim of domestic violence, dating violence or stalking, or other applicable legally protected characteristics protected by law.