Internship – Fugitive Records Digitization Project at JDC

jdc2Fugitive Records Digitization Project: archives.jdc.org

JDC is offering an experiential education opportunity to support the digitization of its Warsaw Office records, 1945-1949, a fugitive collection that was confiscated by the Polish Communist government in the post-WWII period.

This collection reveals the brave determination to rebuild Jewish community life in Poland in the years immediately after World War II—for example: the first renovation of Warsaw’s Nozyk synagogue, the building of a community mikvah, local fundraising efforts to create a Warsaw ghetto memorial and for settlement of pre-state Israel, and the operation of children’s summer camps. The documents include materials in twelve languages, with Polish and English as the predominant languages and comprise 121 linear feet. JDC is digitizing this collection from 444 reels of 35 mm microfilm.

This position offers students a rare opportunity to gain insight into the workflow of a large-scale digitization project, experience preparing raw metadata to be transformed into structured XML, and the possibility of producing an online finding aid.

Responsibilities include:

  • Transforming text based files into spreadsheets to prepare for conversion into EAD-encoded XML
  • Formatting and publishing EAD encoded finding aids
  • Standardizing item-level creator metadata to align with local authority files
  • Folder-mapping, which involves identifying start and end of folders within sets of digital images rendered from microfilm
  • Verifying that digital images received are in accordance with institutional standards

Qualifications:

  • Interest in a hands-on learning experience about archival digitization projects.
  • Knowledge of EAD, XSLT, XML.
  • Familiarity with archival and digitization standards.
  • Detail-oriented and the ability to focus on project goals.
  • Knowledge of Slavic languages would be an asset, but is not required.

Additional Details:

This opportunity is unpaid. The expected schedule is 12-20 hours per week working from our office in midtown Manhattan. This opportunity can begin as soon as is possible.

To apply please send resumes to ExperientialEducation@jdc.org

We look forward to hearing from you!