INTERNSHIP EVALUATION FORM

Name of Intern: Kira Riddle Dates of Internship: January 21-March 3, 2014 Intern Supervisor: Joyce Burner, archivist

WORK HABITS 1. Did the student demonstrate an appropriate work ethic, arrive and leave on time?  Yes _____ No _____ Comments:
Kira was a hard worker, focusing on each assigned task with enthusiasm. She worked independently, looking for ways to be of assistance to the staff. She was reliable and flexible in working around the complications that inevitably arise.

2. Did the student finish his / her work promptly?  No _____ Comments: Yes ____
Kira met all deadlines and completed all assigned work.

3. Did the student maintain proper workplace decorum?  No _____ Comments: Yes _____
Kira showed respect to the archives staff, volunteers, and patrons, and worked hard to be of assistance and support to them rather than impede the general workflow. She was courteous, pleasant, and friendly.

4. Did the student dress appropriately?  No _____ Comments: Yes ____

We encourage casual dress for those not interacting with the public, and Kira complied tastefully.

5. Did the student approach his/her work with enthusiasm?  Yes _____ No _____ Comments:
Kira was obviously very interested in the work assigned to her and enjoyed handling primary documents. She showed true appreciation for the opportunity to work at NARA.

6. Did the student evince a sense of personal responsibility toward his/her work?  No _____ Comments: Yes _____
Kira consistently worked for excellence and accuracy. She took feedback and constructive criticism well, and was happy to revise work as needed, offering no excuses and making appropriate changes as requested. She displayed a very teachable attitude, and strong self-awareness of areas of growth.

WORK QUALITY 7. What were the student's strengths?

Kira came to the National Archives internship with extensive training and experience in piano performance and instruction, and a purposeful intention to make a career shift into library science and archival management. She was able to translate her varied experience and education into effective work with government records. Kira has a good eye for detail. She was able to hit a good balance between seeing the big picture as well as the individual story, which is important in archival work where we often function on the record series level, rather than the individual item level. Her work was precise, accurate and free of typographical errors. She was able to easily flex back and forth between tasks, capably handling the inevitable interruptions.

8. What were the student's weaknesses?

Continued education in history will enhance Kira's archival skills. She exhibited a natural curiosity about the subjects she encountered here, and carried out personal research and reading to broaden her understanding. As she continues to seek out internships and volunteer work at other types of archival institutions, particularly manuscript collections, she will build her resume of experience with all kinds of archival records. She was encouraged to turn her music background into a strength by seeking out experience in related specialized archives.

9. What course grade would you assign this student?  A (Excellent) _____ _____ B (Good) _____ C (Average) _____ D (Below Average) _____ F (Failing) 10. Why did you assign the above grade to this student?
Kira's internship was characterized by enthusiasm and excellence. She was a pleasure to have around, and made significant contributions to the work of the National Archives at Kansas City during her tenure with us. She pitched right in to work on whatever was needed, approaching each task with equal care and precision.

SPECIFIC WORK COMPLETED DURING THE 120-HOUR INTERNSHIP Holdings Maintenance

Kira completed holdings maintenance on 3 cubic feet of Record Group 49, General Land Office, Serialized Land Entry Case Files That Were Canceled, Relinquished, or Rejected, including removing staples and other rusted metal fasteners, and sleeving fragile sheets. The work was performed in preparation for a large digitization project of the records.

Database Entry
Kira contributed to an ongoing database finding aid project related to records from Record Group 110, Office of the Provost Marshall, recruitment and enrollment lists from the Civil War, transcribing handwritten entries into a database. She completed transcription of 13 pages to the database. Kira completed database entry work on 2.5 boxes of (cont. on p. 4)

Arrangement and Description

Kira wrote descriptions for 7 record series from Record Group 75, Bureau of Indian Affairs, including one series from the Sisseton Agency, Civilian Conservation Corps--Indian Division decimal correspondence files; and six series from the Horton Agency, ranging from early correspondence and administrative forms to aerial photographs and maps. She wrote clear, concise descriptions, which will be posted online in Online Public Access (OPA) on the NARA website. (cont. on p. 4)

Preservation
Kira visited the Preservation Lab at the Federal Records Center in Lee's Summit, MO, and learned about basic preservation theory, practices, and techniques.

Reference
Kira learned about research room rules and procedures, and general methods of answering reference requests from patrons. She practiced answering reference questions often posed by patrons. She located records using the Holdings Management System; and learned about off-site reference services. She attended a reference colloquium for NARA staff. (cont. on p. 4)

Exhibits
N/A

Public Relations and Outreach

Kira learned about the genealogy programming offered here. She met with outreach specialist Kimberlee Ried to learn about evening programming and author events, as well as other aspects of outreach.

Education
Kira wrote a records-based lesson plan using DocsTeach.org, relating to Pearl Harbor. She spent time with education specialist Mickey Ebert, learning about educational outreach and programming.

Administration/Professional Organizations/Job Search

Kira met with archives director Lori Cox-Paul, and received advice on writing a resume geared toward an archival job search.

Other
Database Entry, cont.--records from Record Group 75, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Wahpeton Indian School Student Case Files. The work for this project involved looking through the records to identify pieces of personal information related to the individuals listed in the database. Arrangement and Description, cont.--Kira completed re-processing and arrangement of 30 boxes of records from Record Group 75, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Consolidated Chippewa Agency central subject correspondence files, including refining and correcting the folder arrangement, rehousing records in appropriately-sized folders as needed, and updating the folder list for this series. Reference, cont.--She learned about specialized reference involving the Alien Files immigration records and the Leavenworth Inmate Files. She performed preliminary screening of Alien Files. Other work: Kira completed digitization on .7 cubic feet of records from Record Group 21, U.S. District Court at St. Louis, MO, Chinese Exclusion Act case files, including cropping and naming the images, which will be posted in OPA. Kira learned about NARA's use of social media; and completed on-line training regarding holdings protection. She learned about records management and electronic records, as well as ethical questions related to archival work. Kira worked on her personal genealogy with the assistance of a genealogy volunteer in the public access computer room. She spent an hour shadowing the consultation desk staff, observing front-line customer service. She participated in a NARA staff field trip to Johnson County Museum Library.

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