Tag: Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Library Internship: Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Semester: Spring 2025

Praxis Course: HART 420 Museum Studies Fieldwork

Faculty Advisor: Monique Scott and Sylvia Houghteling

Field Site: Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Field Supervisor: Anthony DiGiovann

Praxis Poster:

HART_EliCole_REVISED

 

Further Context:

For my Museum Studies Fieldwork course, I had the opportunity to work at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in their library department, learning about several different aspects of the work involved in running a special collections library. I worked with Anthony DiGiovanni, the Director of Cataloging Services at the Historical Society, to catalog, page, and reshelve books, assist with front-facing work at the reference desk, and work on larger reorganizing and inventorying projects in the library stacks. 

Over the course of this experience, I learned how to use different library classification systems– the Historical Society uses several, including the Dewey Decimal System, Library of Congress classification system, and their own proprietary system–and navigate the library’s vaults to find resources. I also learned how to use MARC records to catalog a book and update it in the library’s holdings. This involved both adding it to the Historical Society’s system and exporting it to UPenn’s online catalog, which hosts HSP’s catalog data and makes it available to the public. While shadowing Anthony at the reference desk, I learned about the kinds of questions patrons often ask when they come in to do research, and what resources– online databases, research guides, HSP’s catalog– I could point them towards to help them find what they were looking for. 

One of the bigger projects I was involved with during this experience was moving a collection of books back into the Historical Society’s stacks. These books were some of HSP’s oldest collections, with books dating back to the 1500s, and had previously been held at the special collections library next door, the Library Company of Philadelphia, as part of a longstanding agreement. Because the terms of the agreement had recently changed, this collection is now being brought back into the Historical Society’s stacks. I helped with the move, and with shifting and reorganizing books on some of the library shelves to make space for the returning collection. As we brought the books back, I helped inventory them, checking them against both the Library Company and the Historical Society’s catalogs to make sure they were properly classified and accounted for. There were frequent complications, so this project required a lot of time and attention to detail. 

This experience has given me a greater understanding and appreciation of all the different kinds of library work and the ways they connect to each other. I feel like I have learned a lot about all the work that goes into running a special collections library, and this experience has made me excited to learn more about library and archival work in the future. 

Curating the Past: Preserving the Future

Semester: Spring 2025

Praxis Course: HART 420 Museum Studies Fieldwork

Faculty Advisor: Monique Scott and Sylvia Houghteling

Field Site:  Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Field Supervisor: Brianna Quade

Praxis Poster:

HART_Maia Praxis Poster (24 x 36 in)_Revised

 

Further Context:

This semester, I interned at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP). I was lucky enough to work in the Learning and Engagement Department under Brianna Quade, the Community Engagement Coordinator.

For a little introduction, HSP opened in 1824 as a way to preserve valuable documents of the American Revolution. Today, HSP’s collection includes over 21 million items, most of which are books, manuscripts, photographs, and newspapers. The archive rests in the heart of Center City, several blocks away from City Hall. One of my favorite things about HSP is that all of the objects are in one building. If you sit down in the Hogwarts-esque reading room and request something — say, an 18th-century ornithology book, a 10-foot SEPTA map, or a David Kennedy watercolor — it will be brought to you. There are so many items that even HSP’s staff regularly find materials they never knew we had. (One of the most recent ones was the diaries and briefcase of a traveling salesman who traveled with his pet raccoon, Dimples).

My work mainly involved working on an upcoming exhibit entitled Voices of the Community: Local Black Preservation. I spent the beginning months of the internship sifting through different collections, trying to find materials that resonated with me. I finally settled on the Nellie Rathbone Bright collection. Over the next few weeks, I researched Ms. Bright and put together a wall case that highlighted significant moments in her life. Ms. Bright worked as the principal for three different Philadelphia schools in the mid-20th century. She constantly strove to make her community a better place, planting gardens, building playgrounds, and generally improving the areas around her schools. In a particularly touching photograph, Ms. Bright poses with several teachers and schoolchildren next to a TV: the first of its kind at her school.

Overall, one of the most memorable experiences of this internship was the feeling of tapping into the great Philadelphia community. As a Haverford student, I sometimes forget how isolated the campus is. My internship at HSP not only made me feel like I was in the know, but also made me feel like I was doing something about it. When Macy’s announced that they were closing the historic Wanamaker Building, America’s first department store, HSP invited the public to come view its Wanamaker Collection which included drawings, photographs, and letters about the building. I got to help set up documents for a WHYY segment on Wanamaker.

Finally, I am so grateful for my experience at HSP. This is my second time interning in its Learning & Engagement Department, and I have learned so much about working in the museum field. Above all, I have learned the importance of a positive work environment. Thank you to Brianna, Justina, Selena, and Katie for such a great spring semester.