Volunteer Opportunities
McGoogan Library offers unpaid volunteer opportunities on a quarterly basis. Current volunteers may retain their appointments for longer periods if projects are available.
Qualifications:
- Commitment of a minimum of 16 hours per month
- Ability to pass a background check
- Must be at least 16 years of age
What to Expect
Volunteers interested in working in Special Collections and Archives will be assigned projects that could include any of the following types of activities:
Types of activities: inventory, rehousing artifacts, creating finding aids and/or data entry for university archives, rare books, historical artifacts and/or artwork
Goals and outcomes: make artifacts more accessible to the public, provide more depth to the exhibition program and preserve historical knowledge for future generations
Types of activities: scanning and metadata creation for documents, images, negatives, slides, bound books, etc. from processed archival collections
Goals and outcomes: enhance public access to collections and ensure preservation of historic materials through creation of a digital surrogate
Types of activities: inventory, refoldering collections, creating finding aids, metadata creation and/or data entry into ArchiveSpace or Preservica databases
Goals and outcomes: make archives more accessible to the public, provide more depth to the exhibition program and preserve historical knowledge for future generations
Types of activities: investigate provenance of objects, provide research support for oral history interviews, curate small rotating displays in the Wigton Heritage Center or the McGoogan Library, curate digital exhibitions
Goals and outcomes: produce written documents, whether a research paper, catalog record, exhibit text, archival finding aids or audience analysis
How to Apply
Individuals interested in applying for a volunteer opportunity should email Carrie Meyer, Associate Professor, Associate Dean, Robert S. Wigton Department of Special Collections and Archives.
Application and Processes Deadlines
| January–March | April–June | July–September | October–December | |
| Application period | Rolling submissions and review | Rolling submissions and review | Rolling submissions and review | Rolling submissions and review |
| Interviews and selection | November | February | May | August |
| UNMC HR processes and background check | December | March | June | September |
| Start date | January 1 | April 1 | July 1 | October 1 |
| End date | March 31 | June 30 | September 30 | December 31 |
| Hours per month | 16-30 hours | 16-30 hours | 16-30 hours | 16-30 hours |
| Total hours per quarter | 48-90 hours | 48-90 hours | 48-90 hours | 48-90 hours |