NCompass Live - March 8, 2017 http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ncompasslive/ Each year when librarians report on their internship experiences we learn more about what worked well and what tips they might have learned along the way that will make for a better internship next time. The one thing that we hear every year is about the importance of planning and selecting an intern that is the right fit for the library and for the tasks that are planned for the internship. JoAnn McManus and Mary Jo Ryan, both with the Nebraska Library Commission, will address the planning involved in preparing for a new intern and share tips to providing your intern--and your library--with a great experience. Although the presentation focuses on ensuring that the newly announced library grant recipients of the 2017 Nebraska Library Internship Grant Program are armed with great information, other libraries will also pick up great tips for how to prepare and make the most out of internships at their libraries.

1. JoAnn McManus, Internship Grant Coordinator
Mary Jo Ryan, Communications Coordinator
Nebraska Library Commission
Guest contributor: Laurie Yocom, Wilson Public Library,
Cozad
The 2017 Nebraska Library Internship Grant Program is
supported in part by the Institute of Museum and Library
Services under the provisions of the Library Services and
Technology Act as administered by the Nebraska Library
Commission, in partnership with the Nebraska Regional Library
Systems.
Planning for
Successful Internships

2. Two Audiences Today
 Libraries selected to receive funding
through the 2017 Nebraska Library
Internship Grant Program (contingent on
LSTA fund allocations)
 Others interested in tips for successful
internships at their library

3. So what is the
Secret to Successful Internships?
P L A N N I N G
“PLANNING makes all the difference.
The detailed calendar was extremely
useful. It kept us on track.”

4. Did you ever….
 Inquire about a job opening and the
supervisor had trouble describing job duties?
 Start a new job and your supervisor wasn’t
prepared to start your training, provide an
orientation, or provide you with expectations?
 Feel like you were only productive for a small
portion of your first day on the job?

5. With Short-term Internships….
 You don’t have the luxury to waste your
intern’s time if you want them to be
productive during the internship —wasting
their time ultimately leads to your time
being wasted.
 So invest time BEFORE the internship
starts. This gets the internship off on
the right foot and can serve
as a template to use for your next
internship.

6. How can you afford an intern?
Those selected to receive an internship grant
have $1,000 available (contingent on Federal
funding).
* use this opportunity to show you need the extra staff
But any library can be creative in their efforts to
find funding:
Check with your friends group, have a
fundraiser, ask a local business to partner, etc.
Or maybe you have flexibility in your
fiscal year’s personnel budget because
of a temporary vacancy, etc.

7. Two ways to provide payment to Interns
Hire the intern as a part-time temporary
employee and pay hourly wage
OR
Use a stipend-based internship & provide
intern with one or more (suggested)
stipend payments that total what you plan
to pay (in our grant generally $1,000 for one
intern or about $500 each if you have two interns).

8. How much to pay?
Stipend-based: Stipend must be equivalent to or more
than minimum wage ($9.00/hour in Nebraska)
Employee: Hourly wage at a minimum of $9.00/hour
Exception: For student workers, employers can
chose to pay a “training wage” of at least 75% of
Nebraska’s
minimum wage ($9.00 x .75 = $6.75/hour)
Remember to check with city or county (if associated)
to check their guidelines to hiring or providing
stipends they may want you to follow.

9. Come Up with
Do BEFORE you determine work plan/intern
duties.
Nebraska Internship Grant Program goals
include:
 Involve the student in real library work
 Provide view of role of libraries, library
operations, & role of technology
 Ensure internship serves as recruitment tool to
help the student view library work as a viable
career path

10. Now add your own goals related to
specific needs you have in your library
Such as….
 Expand a program
 Start or expand use of social media
 Update the library’s website
 Reorganize the children’s section
 Assist customers in public computing
area

11. Develop Work Plan to Achieve
Goals
Determine the duties of the intern
Successful internship grant applicants have
already described those duties.
But do you need to stick to your described
list of activities, or can you take a different
direction?

12. From Goals to Work Plan…
It’s possible your grant application was
successful partially because of the
activities described. On the other hand,
we want you to:
 Provide the student a great experience
 Make use of the intern’s talents and
skills
 End up with a valued
work product

13. So if you wish to make
adjustments…
Our Request: When deviating
significantly from your grant-funded
work plan, email JoAnn McManus as to
what’s new and what’s been eliminated
so any issues with
the new (or dropped)
activities can be

14. Timing of Internship
Determine the best time to have an intern
at your library
 Consider student’s schedule
 Consider best time for library
 Maybe NOT your busiest time—start
the internship at a time it’s not as crazy
so you are able to devote time to and
orientation and providing direction for
that special project.

15. Recruitment…
What are the skills and attributes an intern
needs to be successful performing tasks?
What is the best age range for the student
for your situation?
Do you want to recruit a college or high
school student? Or be open to either?

16. Under 16…Worth the Red
Tape?
Is any age high school student too young?
Remember if the student is only 14 or 15,
there will be number of hours and time of
day limitations that vary during the year
(school day/weekend/summer) that may
be too restrictive for you.
Plus you need to acquire a properly
executed Employment Certificate
from the school’s superintendent.

17. 14 & 15 year old limitations:
Comply with both Federal & State Laws
(the more restrictive of each)
School days (M-F)
• Maximum 3 hours between 3 and 7 pm
Weekends (when school is in session)
• Maximum 8 hours between 7 am and 7
pm
June 1 to Labor Day
• Up to 8 hours per day/40 hours per week
• Between 6:00 am to 9:00 pm
+ Properly Executed Employment
Certificate
https://www.youthrules.gov/know-the-limits/14-15.htm

18. Recruitment – So, once you know…
Whether you are hiring a part-time
employee or a stipend-based
intern,
What the job duties are,
What skills would be ideal,
You are ready to
search for your intern

19. How do you get the word out?
 Local newspaper (article & classified ads)
 High school career office and school
librarians
 Community college, colleges & universities
 InternNE.com (1-stop for paid internships in
Nebraska
 http://nowhiringatyourlibrary.nebraska.gov/J
obsAndCareers.asp
 Post in Library
 Other ideas?

20. Selection and Interviewing
Do you need to follow the same process
you would if you were hiring a permanent
employee?
If you are hiring a part-time employee,
check with the City/County to see if they
have any interviewing guidelines you need
to follow.
If you are having a stipend
arrangement, you may be able
to be less structured

21. Selection and Interviewing
Take process seriously
Ask every candidate the same questions &
consider having more than one person on the
interview team
Put your best foot forward
A structured interview process lets students know
this is a real work relationship. They are more
likely to treat the internship like a real job with
responsibilities and consequences (leading to a
more successful internship experience)

22. Develop questions to help you
determine…
 If they have the right skill
 Will they be dependable
 Are they open to learn new things?
 Do they have the social skills needed?
 Are they interested in the planned task areas?
 Do they have an interest or talent in another
area that might be an even better direction for
the library/internship?

23. More on the Interview
Determine criteria for your consideration
before you start the interview process.
Doing so before you know who the
candidates are will help you to refocus on
what you thought was important.
After the interviews
-Select your new intern

24. You found your perfect intern…
 Agree on a start date
 Before the first day:
 Share your thoughts/plans with other staff
 Take another look at the work plan. Should it be
tweaked to capitalize on your intern’s talents?
 Get organized.
 Have a plan (what you’ll do & what the intern will
do).
 Put that plan into a “flexible” timeline

25. Your timeline will include…
 Introduce intern to projects to be
completed
 Orient the intern to the work of the library
(even if tasks are limited in scope)
 Share information about education and
career paths in library careers.

26. Follow the intern’s progress…
Why? So you can…
 Report on progress
 Make adjustments/provide guidance
 Confirms that they understand the assignment
 If progressing faster, you can introduce next
assignment
 Allows you to provide timely feedback
 Makes it easier for the intern to ask questions
 Other benefits?

27. What leads to a good experience for
the intern (other than the $1,000)?
 Gain valuable experience
 Can use internship on future job &
college applications
 Made a difference in lives
 Made new friends
What else leads to a good experience?

28. What leads to good experience for
library and library staff?
 Intern may have skills that staff do not possess
 Intern can help to make a “stale” project fresh
– new perspective
 You notice where there is room for
improvement—because intern is asking why
 You are getting new customers
 You discover the intern would make a great
part-time or on-call employee
 You have a fresh website, expanded program,
etc.
 Current employees are learning from the intern

29. Resources for you….
 nowhiringatyourlibrary.nebraska.gov/Internships.
asp
 Timeline/Schedule of Intern Activities
Example
 Sample Public Library Orientation Plan
 Employer Guidebook to Developing a
Successful Internship Program (found on
NDED’s website & linked from NLC site)
 InternNE.com (one-stop for paid internships

30. Questions about what we
covered?
Before we move to grant requirements such
as:
Agreement document
Grant requirements
Reporting requirements

31. Grant Requirements & Expectations
When they arrive…
 Agreement – sign both and return one
 Request for payment form – sign and return;
triggers a check to your library
Internship Window: Not before agreement is
signed and conclude by Nov. 30, 2017
-You can advertise and interview students so
you are ready to hire.
-Tell student you cannot commit until grant funds
are secured.)

32. Grant Requirements & Expectations
The intern(s) selected may be either:
 High school student or college student (a home-
schooled high school student is also permissible)
The student must NOT have been
 Employed by a library in the past or currently
 An intern for a library in the past or currently
(no restrictions on past or current volunteers)
Past Library Employee Past Library Intern

33. Grant Requirements &
Expectations
Use of grant dollars ONLY for:
 Stipends going directly to intern
 Intern wages going directly intern
 Withholdings associated with intern wages
(FICA, taxes, etc.)
After internship, library director will be asked to sign
a form attesting to how grant funds were expended.

34. Supervisor responsibilities
 Orient the student to overview of library work
 Track intern’s hours and activities
 Inform intern of library career/educational
opportunities
 Complete supervisor assessments
 Instruct intern to complete baseline & follow-up
surveys (first and last days of internship)
 Respond to requests from Nebraska Library
Commission

35. Publicity
 Press Release pending notice of LSTA
funding
 Credit the Nebraska Library Commission
in all internship communication as follows:
The 2017 Nebraska Library Internship Grant Program
is supported in part by the Institute of Museum and
Library Services under the provisions of the Library
Services and Technology Act as administered by the
Nebraska Library Commission, in partnership with the
Nebraska Regional Library Systems.

36. Laurie Yocom
Wilson Public Library,
Cozad
Tips from Past Intern
Supervisor

37. Questions & Answers

38. Duties described by 27 funded
library grant applicants
Program Related:
Plan, assist, implement and/or expand…
 Summer Reading Program
 Storytime
 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten
 Book discussion groups
 Nebraska’s 150th observation
 Mystery Night and Escape Room activities
 Outreach events outside the library

39. Special Projects…
 Prepare learning materials to include
tutorials for library customers and
lesson plans for maker clubs
 Organize a teen advisory board
 Critique the library’s new website
 Review the procedure manuals
to identify understandability issues

40. Technology Related:
 Update the website
 Explore website design options
 Plan and teach computer classes
 Add management software,
applications and content to mobile
devices
 Support digital learning

41. Makerspace Related:
 Offer input for makerspace
guidelines & troubleshooting
 Assist in planning makerspace clubs
 Plan an open house to showcase
makerspace resources to teachers
 Teach staff to use makerspace
technology
 Develop ideas for teen makerspace to
complement other programming
 Promote learning/usage of makerspace
resources by producing videos

42. Social Media & Public
Relations:
 Enhance the library’s Facebook
page
 Investigate other social media
outlets
 Create blog posts & Tweets
 Create social media releases
 Writing articles

43. Creativity Outlets
 Create book displays
 Design/create bulletin boards
 Plan and lead craft activities
 Design a newsletter
 Take photos
 Create short videos

44. Book Related:
 Shelve books/resources
 Circulation desk duties
 Process books (new & donated)
 Weed collections
 Assist with book selection

45. Assist Customers:
 At reference desk
Using devices
Using public computers
Accessing online materials
 Assist with Spanish/English
translations if qualified

46. Successful 2017 Internship Grant
Public Library Applicants located
in…
 Alma
 Atkinson
 Central City
 Columbus
 Cozad
 Crawford
 Geneva
 Orleans
 Plainview
 Schuyler
 Stromsbur
g
 Verdigre
 Wayne
 York
 Grant
 Kimball
 La Vista
 Lincoln (4)
 Neligh
 Norfolk
 Omaha (4)

47. JoAnn McManus
Nebraska Library Commission
Grant Program Manager
joann.mcmanus@nebraska.gov
402-471-4870; 800-307-2665 (NE only)
Contact