My best intern of all time loved history, but she REALLY loved having 
things in order - her cataloging and organizational skills were 
impeccable. You should definitely ask if they love [the tasks you really 
need done] - yes, there will be history along the way, but s/he needs to 
looovvee doing layout for publications, or scanning photos, or doing 
marketing. A love of history is why we apply our skills to this career, 
but we have to love doing certain tasks, too. (yeah, yeah, "love" is 
stretching it some days, I know....)

John Marks
Curator of Collections & Exhibits
Geneva (NY) Historical Society

On 4/17/2012 12:09 PM, Christa McCay wrote:
> Hello All,
>
> My question is about interns.  After having recently interviewing over 
> 20 interns for the summer semester (fyi, we are a staff of 4 and will 
> have more interns then staff at the Museum this summer), I have begun 
> to feel that potential interns think that a love of history is enough 
> to get them a position.  Is it really enough?
> I have begun to feel that no it?s not.  Often times they don?t have 
> the experience with basic computer programs or with graphic design 
> programs (mainly exhibits and marketing interns).  I understand with 
> this economy getting an internship and experience is the best for 
> their resume and for getting a job after college.  Also I understand 
> that people need to start their experience somewhere,but most of these 
> students don?t want to be in the Museum world when they graduate and 
> often times assume that they will get to ?play? with cool artifacts 
> all day.  We all know that the truth is, there is a lot of paperwork 
> involved with maintaining a collection along with data entry, both of 
> which are not glamorous or very exciting.
> I know that our job is to teach interns but like many of us, we are 
> juggling multiple tasks to make up for the positions that are 
> currently empty and can?t be filled due to budget.  Our teaching and 
> training time is limited.  I do want to have interns with a passion 
> for history but also a passion to work in Museums.  I sometimes feel 
> like my time was wasted trying to teach and train someone who just 
> wanted to do this for fun.
>
> I am sorry if this sounds like whining or sour grapes but I would like 
> to know from others if a love of history is enough?
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
> Christa McCay, M.H.P.
> Registrar
> Marietta Museum of History
> 1 Depot Street, Ste. 200
> Marietta, GA 30060
> 770-794-5726
>
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