Experiences of an archives intern at the University of Regina Archives and Special Collections

Name: Mason Hausermann

Position: Arts Intern, U of R Archives & Special Collections

Area of Study: Bachelor of Arts (Major: History, Minor: English)

Career Aspirations: I would love to work in archives, libraries or museums once I’ve completed my degree.

Why did you want to do an internship at the Archives? 

To gain more insight into the heritage field. I was interested to learn more about what goes into the process of collection and digitization, as this is an often-overlooked component. Another aspect that drew me to this internship was the fact that I would be interacting with records and artifacts. I spent last summer as a student at the Doukhobor Heritage Village and really enjoyed this kind of hands-on work so I was glad to have a chance to do more of it.

What was your project? 

The digitization of Dr. George F. Ledingham's Ornithological study records. They form part of the Dr. George F. Ledingham Herbarium at the U of R’s Faculty of Science. The Herbarium is an amazing collection of multiple different plant specimens, journals, photographs and textual records. By digitizing materials from the Herbarium, the U of R hopes to increase awareness and access to Ledingham’s vast collection and research. The project gives University of Regina students experience with collection management and primary source research.

What did you learn during the project?

I learned many of the fundamentals of archival work. Topics of original order, digitization, retrieval, and refiling were all activities I participated in. I was interested to learn about the different preservation tools used in an archives. I was surprised about the amount of work that goes into retrieval and refiling, definitely keeps you on your feet! The part of the work I enjoyed the most was thinking and learning about the context of each artifact that together creates a larger story. I find it very interesting to learn a story lost to time.

Would you recommend other students sign up for internships in Archives? 

Yes, archival work has numerous transferable skills that could apply to a number of fields. The experience of working both in a group and alone are very important. Involvement of any kind in the preservation of history is interesting at a personal level and important to society.