Duties
The position description number for this position is 404866.
This is a non-supervisory, bargaining unit position.
The Summer 2025 session of the Junior Fellows Program includes options for both onsite and remote project work. This posting is for the onsite project track. Interns hired under this announcement will be expected to commute to a Library of Congress facility in Washington, DC or Culpeper, VA to conduct work duties.
This program offers undergraduate, graduate students and recent graduates insights into the environment and culture of the world's largest and most comprehensive repository of human knowledge. Interns will be exposed to a broad spectrum of library work: copyright, preservation, reference, access standards, and information management. Interns inventory, catalog, arrange, preserve, and research a backlog of copyright or special collections in many different formats in various divisions, and assist with digital preservation outreach activities throughout the Library. Working with curators and specialists in various divisions, interns explore collections, resources, and initiatives and produce products that position the Library of Congress as a dynamic center for fostering innovation, sparking creativity, and building lifelong connections.
Near the end of their appointment at the Library, the interns join together to present a display of historically significant Library collections and information discovered through research conducted in the course of their work.
Program Focus
The focus of the Junior Fellows Program is to increase access to Library collections and to promote awareness and appreciation of the Library's services to Congressional members, scholars, students, teachers, and the general public. Junior Fellows encourage the use of collections and services - ensuring that the Library of Congress is known as a living, dynamic center for scholarly work and meaningful connections.
Program participants inventory, catalog, arrange, preserve, and research collections in varied formats, as well as assist in digital library initiatives. Upon completion of their assignments, Junior Fellows work closely with Library curators and specialists to plan and present a display of their most significant discoveries and accomplishments.
In 2021, JFP became a component of the multiyear Of the People: Widening the Path initiative, funded by the Mellon Foundation, to connect more deeply with Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, and other minority communities by expanding Library of Congress collections, using technology to enable storytelling, and offering more internship and fellowship opportunities. Of the People aligns with a larger vision at the Library to connect with all Americans by inviting new generations to participate in creating, preserving, and sharing the nation’s cultural treasures and building on the Library’s commitment to collect and preserve more underrepresented perspectives and experiences.
The Junior Fellows Program, a signature initiative of the Library of Congress since 1991, is made possible by a gift from the late James Madison Council member Nancy Glanville Jewell through the Glanville Family Foundation and the Knowledge Navigators Trust Fund and by a generous grant from the Mellon Foundation.
2025 Onsite Projects:
The onsite project names for 2025 are listed below. For full project descriptions and list of required skills/knowledge for each project, applicants must review the information at this link prior to applying.
- Literary Programming at the Library of Congress (Onsite)
- Sharing the Work of Conservation at the Library (Onsite)
- Late Cold War Era Open-Source Intelligence Russian Cataloging (Onsite)
- From Stacks to Metaverse: Documenting Digital Odysseys (Onsite)
- Ascending from Valley Depths: Enriching Access to Chinese Gazetteers (Onsite)
- Marie Tharp, Mapmaking Pioneer- Diving into Unprocessed Collection Material (Onsite)
- Online Inventory of Hispanic Reading Room Pamphlet Collections (Onsite)
- A Nation Changed: Preserving the 9/11 Newspaper Collection (Onsite)
- Elizabeth Brown Pryor Internship, Manuscript Reading Room (Onsite)
- Mary Wolfskill Internship, Manuscript Reading Room (Onsite)
- Office of War Information Collection Lacquer Processing (Onsite – Culpeper, VA)
- Universal Music Group Collection Lacquer Processing (Onsite – Culpeper, VA)
- Mapping The Collections-Title Collection Map Project (Onsite)
- Examining and Contextualizing the ‘Indian Ocean World’ Collections (Onsite)
- Video Preservation from Shelf to Video Lab and Beyond (Onsite – Culpeper, VA)
- Providing Access to American History and Culture (Onsite)
- Cataloging the Deinard Collection (Onsite)
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
All projects require basic knowledge of Microsoft Office programs.
MUST be a U.S. citizen. Permanent residents are ineligible for consideration.
MUST be a U.S. Citizen currently enrolled at time of application in a degree-granting program of study at an accredited institution of higher learning at the undergraduate level (college, university, or tribal college), or graduate level, AND/OR have graduated or will graduate between January 1, 2024 and December 31, 2024.
MUST be a first- time participant in the Junior Fellows Program.
MUST be able to commute to a Library of Congress facility in Washington, DC or Culpeper, VA (Projects 11, 12, and 15) to conduct work duties for the duration of the internship.
MUST be available to attend mandatory orientation on Monday, May 19, 2025. NO EXCEPTIONS.
MUST be available to work Monday – Friday during the Junior Fellow Program’s core business hours 6:30 am – 6:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.
Notice: Library of Congress employees are prohibited from using illegal drugs, including marijuana. The Library is part of the Federal Government and abides by federal law, so regardless of individual state or District of Columbia laws, marijuana use is illegal, considered criminal activity, and can affect your employment at the Library. In addition, past or current drug use and activities (e.g., selling or distributing) may deem you ineligible for employment.
Qualifications
Applicants must have had progressively responsible experience and training sufficient in scope and quality to furnish them with an acceptable level of the following knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the position without more than normal supervision.
- Must be a U.S. citizen. Permanent residents are ineligible for consideration.
- MUST be a U.S. Citizen currently enrolled at time of application in a degree-granting program of study at an accredited institution of higher learning at the undergraduate level (college, university, or tribal college), or graduate level, AND/OR have graduated or will graduate between January 1, 2024 and December 31, 2024.
- MUST BE AVAILABLE TO REPORT TO WORK ONSITE FOR FULL TEN WEEK PERIOD from May 19 through July 25. MUST be available to attend mandatory orientation on Monday, May 19, 2025. NO EXCEPTIONS.
- Must be available to work a full-time schedule, Monday – Friday during the Junior Fellow Program’s core business hours: 6:30 am – 6:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.
- MUST be able to commute to the Library of Congress main campus in Washington, DC or Culpeper, VA (Projects 11, 12, and 15) to conduct work duties for the duration of the internship.
- Appointment/retention is subject to a favorable evaluation of a personnel security/suitability investigation. Note: If selected, you must assist us to expedite processing of your application by responding quickly (within one week) to the Personnel Security Department. It is your responsibility to meet the concrete deadlines set forth under this announcement. It is also your responsibility to ensure that you respond and complete the necessary components of the background investigation within the given timeframe.
- Resume (either uploaded or created using the Resume Builder).
- Responses to all Vacancy Questions.
- Latest transcript from the current or most recently attended college or university OR official registrar documentation certifying enrollment in Fall 2024.** Unofficial copies of transcripts are acceptable at time of application.
If you are freshman at your institution and do not have an unofficial transcript at your disposal OR your unofficial transcript does not display enrollment in the Fall 2024 semester, please submit another document from your institution and/or registrar’s office to certify your current enrollment.
A legible copy of your latest college/university transcripts is required with your online application. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable at the time of application. Your transcript will be used to certify your eligibility for the program. Official transcripts will be required if selected for the position. Transcripts must be issued by the college or university, and must include your name, the name of the institution, and the courses and course dates. Screenshots, JPEGS, Word or other text documents, and stand-alone course lists are not acceptable. Failure to submit the required legible documentation at the time of application will result in disqualification.
If you do not have an unofficial transcript at your disposal, please submit another document from your institution and/or registrar’s office to certify your current enrollment. Certifications via National Student Clearinghouse are acceptable to verify enrollment.
- Two (2) references (name, email and phone) that can attest to the applicant's proficiency, skills, work ethic, reliability, quality of work, and capacity to work on teams. PLEASE PROVIDE YOUR REFERENCE NAMES, AND CONTACT INFORMATION AT THE TIME OF YOUR INTERVIEW. DO NOT ATTACH REFERENCE INFORMATION TO YOUR APPLICATION.
Letters of Recommendation are NOT required for the application.
For all documents except professional references, you should follow the steps for submitting documents found below in step 5 of the "How to Apply" section.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Once selected and hired for the internship, every effort will be made to accommodate project selections. Due to the popularity of some areas of interest, preferred project placement cannot be guaranteed. All project areas may not be available at the time applicants are selected and others may be added. Applicants should be sure to indicate three project areas of interest within their applications. Please refer to the “How You Will be Evaluated” section for more information.
Education
MUST be a U.S. Citizen currently enrolled at time of application in a degree-granting program of study at an accredited institution of higher learning at the undergraduate level (college, university, or tribal college), or graduate level, AND/OR have graduated or will graduate between January 1, 2024 and December 31, 2024.
NOTE: Your transcripts and/or registrar certification of enrollment documents are required in order to verify your eligibility for consideration. Failure to provide this documentation in your application will result in disqualification. Certifications via National Student Clearinghouse are acceptable to verify enrollment.
REQUIRED: A legible copy of your latest college/university transcripts OR official registrar documentation certifying enrollment in Fall 2024.** Unofficial transcripts are acceptable at the time of application. Official transcripts will be required if selected for the position. Transcripts must be issued by the college or university, and must include your name, the name of the institution, and the courses and course dates. Failure to submit the required legible documentation at the time of application will result in disqualification. All transcripts and/or registrar documents must be in PDF file format. Image files, Word documents, etc. are not acceptable.
** - If you are freshman at your institution and do not have an unofficial transcript at your disposal OR your unofficial transcript does not display enrollment in the Fall 2024 semester, please submit another document from your institution and/or registrar’s office to certify your current enrollment. Certifications via National Student Clearinghouse are acceptable to verify enrollment. Failure to provide any proof of enrollment will result in disqualification from consideration.
Foreign Education – Education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed equivalent to conventional/accredited U.S. education programs to be acceptable for Federal employment. If your college/university is outside the U.S., your transcripts must be accompanied by a report from a credential evaluation service that is a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) or the Association of International Credentials Evaluators (AICE). Failure to submit a foreign education evaluation report will result in disqualification of your application.
Benefits
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Review our benefits
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How to Apply
Please carefully follow all instructions under the How to Apply tab to ensure you are considered for the position. You are required to apply online for this announcement. Mailed or e-mailed documents WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. You must complete the entire application process, including submission of all documents BEFORE this announcement closes. To do so, complete the following steps.
Step 1: If you do not already have one, create a resume on USAJOBS. Although you must enter your Social Security Number for USAJOBS, this information will not be provided to the Library of Congress.
Step 2: Review the Job Announcement. We recommend you go to the end of the Qualification and Evaluation section of the job announcement to preview the online questions that you will answer in Step 4. You may wish to customize your USAJOBS resume to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions.
Step 3: Click on the "APPLY ONLINE" button to the right of this announcement. Follow USAJOBS' instructions to access your account and submit your resume. You will be redirected to the Hiring Management website to complete the application process. If this is your first time in Hiring Management, you will be asked to answer questions related to your eligibility for Federal employment. You will be able to update this information and save it to our account for future announcements.
Step 4: Once you have completed the eligibility questions, you will be taken directly to the vacancy application questions. Answer all questions honestly and thoroughly.
Step 5: Hiring Management offers three options that will electronically attach your documentation to your online application once you finish answering the questions in the job announcement. (1) You may select a document that you have already uploaded to USAJOBS for a previous announcement. (2) You may electronically upload a document directly from your computer to your application. Be certain to review your complete application for confirmation the document uploaded and click on "Finished" to be returned to USAJOBS.
Step 6: Click on "Submit" after you have completed your application. Once you have submitted your application, you can check your status online through your Hiring Management or MY USAJOBS account.
Your complete online application and any required supplemental documentation (e.g., SF-50, etc.) must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on the closing date of the announcement. It is your responsibility to ensure that all documents are received on time and that the materials are readable. Failure to do so will result in your application being excluded from consideration for this announcement. If you are experiencing any technical difficulty with the online process, you MUST CONTACT THE POINT OF CONTACT FOR THIS ANNOUNCEMENT BEFORE THE CLOSING DATE. For all technical issues please contact jobhelp@loc.gov, no later than 4:30pm EST of the Closing Date. REQUESTS FOR EXTENSIONS WILL NOT BE GRANTED.
Next steps
Please review our evaluation process under Evaluation. You may check the status of your application for this position at any time by logging onto the USAJOBS "My USAJOBS" tab and clicking on "My Applications." You will receive final notification via e-mail when the vacancy has been filled. For inquiries regarding your application status, email: jobhelp@loc.gov.