Andrew McNulty
OXFORD, Miss. – Working as an intern at the Library of Congress is a “pretty cool summer” job, according to University of Mississippi senior Andrew Joseph McNulty.
While many linguists would consider McNulty’s statement an oxymoron, the Madison native doesn’t because he’s still excited to have been among 41 college students selected to participate in the Library of Congress‘ 2013 Junior Fellows Summer Intern Program.
McNulty, a criminal justice major, was chosen by a panel of library curators and specialists from among more than 1,100 applicants for the 10-week paid internship, which runs May 28-Aug. 2.
“I originally applied for another internship through Congressman Gregg Harper, but he didn’t have any available positions for summer interns, but his position on the Library of Congress’ Joint Oversight Committee allowed him to appoint two interns to the library’s Junior Fellowship program,” he said.
The focus of the program is on increasing access to the library’s collections and raising awareness of its digital-preservation programs by making them better known and accessible to members of Congress and researchers, including scholars, students, teachers and the general public.
McNulty and the other 2013 fellows will inventory, catalog, arrange, preserve and research a backlog of copyright or special-collections material in many different formats in various divisions. At the conclusion of the 10-week program, each fellow is required to compile a display to showcase what they have learned. McNulty works in the library’s music division, which is located in the basement.
“I am currently cataloging World War I-era sheet music,” he said. “The 100th anniversary of the start of World War I is next year, and the division would like for its entire catalog to be available by then.”
The Junior Fellows Summer Intern Program is made possible through the generosity of the late Mrs. Jefferson Patterson and the James Madison Council, the library’s private-sector advisory group.
Working under the direction of library curators and specialists, the Junior Fellows explore and increase access to the institution’s collections and resources. They are exposed to a broad spectrum of library work, including copyright, preservation, reference, access standards, information management and digital initiatives. In the past, summer interns have identified hundreds of historical, literary, artistic, cinematic and musical gems, representing the library’s rich cultural, creative and intellectual assets.
Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution. The library seeks to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its collections, programs and exhibitions. Many of the library’s resources can be accessed through its website at http://www.loc.gov. For more information about internships and employment at the library, go to http://www.loc.gov/hr/employment/.
McNulty, the son of Ole Miss graduates Pat and Wendy McNulty of Madison, is a member of the University Band and a National Merit Scholar.