/ Library

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.

Archives Assistant

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.

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Circulation Assistant
A library student worker assisting another student at the Circulation Desk

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.

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Digital Skills Consultant
A library student worker seated in front of two computers in the Digital Media Lab

Working at the DML will strengthen your technical and problem-solving skills while allowing you to improve your digital literacy. This position requires lots of communication and interaction with students, staff and faculty. DML requires independent eLearning, an initiative to build 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, offer peer-to-peer support to students and also assist staff and faculty in troubleshooting. Having experience with multimedia projects is required. Commit to work at least 8+ hours a week.

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Interlibrary Loan Assistant

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.).

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Library Office/Mending Assistant
A library student worker processing an item in the Technical Services department

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.).

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Research Help Desk Assistant

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.

Submit a job application 

Quotes from Student Employees

  • “Working here has enhanced my curiosity, and this position encourages me to be intentional and diligent.” (Ayanna Bailey ’23, DML Student Manager)
  • “Working at the library was one of the best parts of my time at Hope. It was a great way to meet new people, and I learned so many new skills that I’m sure will help me in my future endeavors!” (Lindsey Heidema ’22, Circulation Assistant & Weekend Student Supervisor)
  • “The library offers great student-employee experiences! I loved learning about the different steps in book processing and the inner workings of library systems.” (Kallen Mohr ’23, Library Office/Mending Assistant)
  • “I have been working at the Van Wylen Circulation desk for about three years now, and I have enjoyed every second of it. The student workers and Hope staff are all incredibly kind, and education is always encouraged and prioritized. The hours are flexible, and are perfect to fit into any schedule you may have each semester. During my time here, I have learned to love helping people and have gotten to meet all of the wonderful people who attend Hope.” (Sarah Theis ’23, Circulation Assistant & Weekend Student Supervisor)
  • “My interest in research piqued after meeting with a librarian during my First Year Seminar and it has only grown since then. Working with our librarians has equipped me with skills to help students, staff, and community members find information on a wide range of topics. One of my favorite things about my job is that I'm able to help patrons while learning about a variety of topics at the same time. Overall the library has been a place for me to explore and aid others with the support of our librarians, it's a place that encourages growth outside of the classroom and is relevant in many aspects of my day to day life.” (Saniyah Jordan ’23, Research Help Desk Assistant & Student Supervisor)

Collage of 2021 senior student library employees

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

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 Todd Wiebe, Interim Dean of Libraries (wiebe@hope.edu).

For more information on Academic Internships (for credit) and Registering for Internships students should consult the Boerigter Center.

Digital Liberal Arts Internship

The DLA internship will work closely with the Digital Liberal Arts Librarian to develop an internship focused on learning and developing skills in digital liberal arts methodologies, projects and digital liberal arts librarianship. Potential projects will build digital tools or projects, develop training materials and repositories for supporting the library DLA program, and other special projects. Contact Victoria Longfield (longfield@hope.edu) for more information.

Archives Internship

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.

More testimonials from former interns