Pathways to Success

Garden Spot High School

Anna Armbruster – Library Science Internship

My name is Anna Armbruster and I am a library science intern at LancasterHistory in Lancaster City and an archiving intern at Historic Poole Forge in Narvon. I had never been someone with a clear career path in mind, but my interest in Library and Information Science grew considerably during my junior year. I worked closely with teachers and librarians at Garden Spot for months to find an internship in which I could explore that interest, and I’m happy to say that we found two! Each internship explores a different aspect of the field and gave me a more holistic understanding of the industry, and I’m so thankful to have had those experiences.

My internship at LancasterHistory involved an introduction to librarianship. Located in Lancaster City next to the James Buchan House, this organization revolves around the history and genealogy of the county. While my time there was supposed to include many different aspects of librarianship, my focus so far during the semester had been on creating records for the information files there. Every week, I would go through each folder, pull out key information, and create a record of the file that could be discovered through the library’s search engine. While it might not seem incredibly exciting at first glance, I actually had so much fun working through these files! I learned a lot about the history of Lancaster County, including everything from ghost towns to Groundhog Day (I was working through the G’s). Even though I did not get a chance to explore much more, my mentor, Mr. Pease, was an incredible inspiration for what a librarian should be, and he taught me a lot.

My internship at Historic Poole Forge, on the other hand, explored the archiving aspect of the field. An archeological dig was conducted at another forge in the area, and my job was to go through the thousands of artifacts and pull items of interest. The roughly thirty boxes contained pottery pieces, old cloth, beautifully decorated china, glass bottles, and so much more. Every day there was a treasure hunt, and I had so much fun finding interesting items and making a record of the special artifacts to be included in the final display.

Both of my internships have truly expanded my knowledge of Library and Information Science. I have gained valuable experience from each place that has cemented my interest in the field and my desire for a career in it. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be involved with these organizations, and I am excited to see what my future in librarianship holds!

educationlibraryscience

jhackman • April 27, 2020


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