Multnomah County Library offers internships for to students currently enrolled in an MLIS program and through the SummerWorks and College to County internship programs. 

MLS/MLIS interns

Each intern position has specific qualifications that need to be met. In general, we open internship positions when there is an appropriate project in which an intern could participate, and a supervisor available for the intern. For all MLS intern positions, candidates must be:

• 18 years or older
• Currently enrolled in a related MLS degree program
• Able to provide professor contact information
• Able to meet the working hour requirements for each position

All candidates meeting the minimum qualifications will be contacted and required to submit the following:

• A current resume
• A one-page cover letter explaining why you are applying for the specific internship and what you are hoping to learn through this experience.

If you have a project that an intern might benefit from, contact Amy Honisett for more information

College to County interns

MCL hires students in undergraduate programs as temporary employees for the College to County internship program. The interns work with the library from June - September. Please contact Amy Honisett if you are interested in engaging a College to County intern.

SummerWorks interns

MCL works with the SummerWorks internship program to engage high school and college age interns. These interns work with the library from June - August. Please contact Amy Honisett if you are interested in engaging a SummerWorks intern.

Other intern opportunities

If you have a project that might be appropriate for an intern who is not enrolled in an MLS program, please contact Amy Honisett.

Unpaid intern or employee?

The Department of Labor applies a seven-part test to decide whether a worker is properly classified as an unpaid intern as opposed to an employee.

With this test in mind:

• Do not assign work to an intern that you would assign to a regular employee. Instead, have interns shadow employees in order to learn from them and engage them in special projects that are educational in nature.
• Do not become reliant on the intern as you would an employee. Ask yourself, would the intern's absence pose a problem in the workplace? If the answer is yes, the intern probably qualifies as an employee and should be paid according to applicable state and federal wage laws.
• The more the internship provides the individual with skills that can be used in multiple employment settings, as opposed to skills particular to one employer's operation, the more likely the intern would be viewed as receiving training.

Intern or volunteer?

Unpaid interns are:

• Gaining school credit or working towards specific career goals
• Working on a specific project
• Have a specific end date
• Work closely with the intern supervisor, who provides mentoring and coaching support

If an individual meets all four of the above criteria, you should be working with Amy Honisett in Learning + Organizational Development.

If the individual does not meet the above four criteria they are considered a volunteer and you should be coordinating their service with Volunteer Services.