Student Jobs and Internships
Jobs and internships at the Van Wylen Library and Archives and Special Collections provide a valuable opportunity to acquire real life skills and experience that can translate to your résumé.
Library Jobs
Student library employees learn valuable skills desired by community professionals. Typically, the library hires in November for spring semester and April for fall semester.
- Archives Assistant
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The Archives Assistant will develop the skills to preserve, describe and provide access to historical materials using archival best practices and technologies. This role assists the Archives with a variety of organizational, technical and customer service tasks, as your schedule, past experience and interests allow. This position also requires attention to detail, the ability to work independently and a strong interest in learning new skills. This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in history, archival or museum work.
This position will require frequent physical labor to lift and shelve boxes, move carts and otherwise facilitate the transportation and retrieval of materials from the collections. In the case of temporary or permanent condition(s) that require(s) accommodation(s), please contact archives@hope.edu.
Applicants may work up to 20 hours a week between 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. during the summer and fall.
- Circulation Assistant
Being a circulation assistant is a great way to develop marketable skills that will benefit you long after you graduate from Hope. This is a customer service position responsible for assisting patrons, shelving library materials, checking materials in and out, collecting fines, opening and closing the library, and other daily tasks. This position requires a high level of responsibility, teamwork, good communication and attention to detail. Applicants must be able to move carts and shelve books, move throughout the building, maintain focus for extended periods and be willing to work some weekends, nights and mornings.
- Digital Skills Consultant
Digital Skills Consultants assist with multimedia projects and support technology needs by applying problem-solving skills, either by using appointment calendars or by taking walk-in inquiries.
This position requires independent eLearning, an initiative to build new digital skills, dependability and promptness to work scheduled shifts. Our area involves teamwork, special projects and attention to detail. Applicants must have a desire to build new skills and offer peer-to-peer support to students, as well as to assist staff and faculty. Having experience with Microsoft, Adobe Creative Suite, podcasting, research or other multimedia tools is helpful. Must be able to work at least 8+ hours a week, including some flexibility for evenings and weekends.
- Interlibrary Loan Assistant
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The interlibrary loan assistant gains extensive knowledge of and experience with behind-the-scenes library work, including the library catalog and fulfillment systems. Applicants must be highly responsible and independently motivated to accomplish a host of tasks in support of office work and resource sharing and be available during normal business hours (8 a.m.–5 p.m.).
- Library Office/Mending Assistant
The Library office/mending assistant learns job skills such as process implementation, attention to detail and problem solving. This role is responsible for assisting the Technical Services department in the library with their workflow, which includes cataloging, processing and mending. Our work is not public-facing, so students must have a desire to work independently on tasks that may include handling books to prepare them for circulation in our collection and mending books that have been damaged and require repair. Applicants must be able to follow detailed instructions, accurately update records, and work during normal business hours (8 a.m.–5 p.m.).
- Research Help Desk Assistant
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This is a customer service role where you’ll help patrons with research, printers, computers, locating materials in the library, utilizing a variety of library resources including databases and Hope Primo, and other daily tasks.
This position requires strong research and communication skills as well as dependability and promptness for working scheduled shifts. Our area involves some teamwork with librarians and attention to detail. Applicants must have a desire to troubleshoot, learn new skills and support students, staff and faculty and be willing to work some weekends, nights and mornings.
Quotes from Student Employees
- “My favorite part of working in the library has been all of the amazing staff. It's such an inviting community, and everyone is so kind, supportive and friendly. In the past three years, I've made some really special connections that I'll miss once I graduate! Also, nothing beats the smell of a library!” (Carmen Casper ’24, Circulation Student Supervisor)
- “Creating access to the wide array of resources the library provides!” (Carole Chee ’24, Research Help Assistant)
- “I have loved working at the library because it gave me a better insight on the services Hope College provides their students, faculty and alumna. I was able to use my creativity when working here to improve the advertisement of these services as well as establish a great relationship with my fellow coworkers!” (Marisa Vitale ’24, Digital Skills Consultant)
- “My supervisors and what I learned from them. Jenny and Michael. I think they both play the role of more than a supervisor. Or at least to me they have. They listen even when it doesn’t concern work. They've taught me that grace and kindness doesn’t need to be on the schedule to be given and I’ll take that with me. They have also very GENTLY taught me to see mistakes as normal and view accountability as not a punishment but a step towards learning the art of responsibility and achieving gradual but sure personal growth.” (Rita Kagaju ’24, Research Help Assistant)
Library Internships
Library internships are intended for Hope College students contemplating a career in libraries and considering graduate school in library/information science. Hope library interns have had a high rate of acceptance at the best graduate programs.
- General Library Internship
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This internship will expose students to library professionals from all areas of an academic library and allow interns to tackle in-depth projects matched to their interests, with tangible outcomes that can be shared on graduate school applications and resumes. Interns may engage in projects in Research and Instruction, Access Services, Collection Development, Technical Services, or Rare Books, with topics matched to their interests and library needs. Students with required internships for their major can work with the library to match their projects to their department's requirements. Hours are flexible but typically between Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Both paid and unpaid internships may be available.
Students who want to discuss the possibility of a library internship should reach out to any librarian with whom they already have a relationship or to Kristin Meyer, Dean of Libraries (meyerk@hope.edu).
For more information on Academic Internships (for credit) and Registering for Internships students should consult the Boerigter Center.
- Archives Internship
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Hope College Archives and Special Collections provides paid internships for students looking to develop some of the technical skills an academic archive utilizes when caring for distinctive collections. Interns will work with Archives staff to learn the best practices and techniques library professionals employ to collect, organize, preserve and facilitate access to special collections materials.
Students who wish to apply for an Archives Internship should contact Sarah Lundy, director of Archives and Special Collections (lundys@hope.edu). For more information about the internship opportunity, please see the full position description.
Prior Interns
Recent Van Wylen interns have gone on to be accepted at top-tier library and information science graduate programs and many received assistantships in a very competitive field.
