National Archives & Records Administration

Federal Records Center

Code: NARADC-01

This internship is at the intersection of records management and the business world. The National Archives and the Federal Records Center Program (FRCP) offer Federal agencies a suite of electronic records management services, but have not surveyed the private industry methods of charging for these same services. Specifically, there are four services that that the FRCP would like information on: Storing electronic records with a vendor and paying for web portal access to the records; Refreshing media (duplication) that is reaching the end of its lifecycle; Storage and rotation of electronic media housed in specialized media vaults; and Storage of electronic records with a third party for discovery and litigation purposes. The selected intern will perform market research to identify the various methods that private industry utilizes to charge clients for their records management services. This research will include reviewing existing electronic record services, identifying pertinent business and records management literature, discussions with staff financial and records management experts, and gathering information on FRCP competitors. At the end of the week, the intern will have compiled the private industry pricing models for the electronic record services outlined above

Office of General Counsel

Alison Trulock and Emily Cogswell. Code: NARADC-02

Assisting in legal research on cutting edge topics in the law involving e-records management and e-discovery obligations of public sector institutions. NARA's Office of General Counsel provides litigation support and assistance to the Justice Department on ongoing litigation involving presidential and federal records. The assigned intern could expect to be involved in performing research related to this function, and would be invited to attend any hearings or other ongoing activities taking place during the designated week. Knowledge of Westlaw preferred but not required.

Additionally, our office participates in such diverse activities as supporting the work of The Sedona Conference, a legal nonprofit think tank, in publishing papers on electronic records issues, see, e.g., The Sedona Conference Best Practices Commentary on the Use of Search and Information Retrieval in E-Discovery (2007 (available online), as well as participating in the TREC Legal Track, an international research project on text retrieval issues run by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology. The assigned intern would be expected to be assigned one or more research projects related to these activities. Knowledge of Westlaw preferred but not required

Office of Information Services - Disposition of Hard Drives

Code: NARADC-03

Information Technology Services Dvision (NHT) currently has a backlog of hard drives that were removed from surplus equipment. The task would involve retrieving batches of drives from the storage cage and bringing them up to run through a degausser. They would then need to be labeled as cleaned and prepared for disposal. This effort may also require removing hard drives from equipment destined for disposal or running a disk wiping tool on equipment that is still functional.

Office of Information Services - Toner Cartridge Tracking System

Code: NARADC-04

In an effort to abide by the governments green rules, NARA has recently begun to purchase remanufactured toner cartridges. As a result we have had numerous problems with toner leakage, faulty cartridges, cartridge/printer incompatibility, missing memory chips, etc. In many instances these problems have resulted in damage to the printers. Additionally, we have been told by our contractor that HP has told them that if we use non-HP cartridges in our HP printers it voids our warranty. We need to develop a tracking system, maybe an Access database, to track often the problems are occurring, if it is with specific toner manufacturers or specific printer models, etc., and ultimately if there is an actual cost benefit to using remanufactured cartridges over new, brand name cartridges.

Office of Information Services - Customer Satisfaction Survey

Code: NARADC-05

Office of Information Services (NH) currently has a customer satisfaction survey that is sent to a random sampling of help desk customers every month. This survey consists of 17 questions, some of which include comment fields. The results of the survey are recorded in an Access database. IT Services Division (NHT) is currently utilizing only a fraction of the data that is available from the survey for use in monthly award fee calculations. We would like to make better use of all of the data that is being gathered via the survey to determine problem areas and take corrective actions in order to improve customer satisfaction. We need someone who is either already familiar with Access, or intuitive enough to be able to learn Access on their own and figure out how to analyze the data and create reports that we can run both monthly and as needed to better utilize the available data. This data could be particularly useful when determining the requirements for the new IT support contract.

Archival Research Catalog

Lance Stuchell. Code: NARADC-06

The Archival Research Catalog (ARC) Staff seeks an intern with an interest in database searching and web design. Working with the ARC Outreach Coordinator, the intern will create topical web pages that increase access to archival descriptions and digital copies in the online catalog. The process for creating an ARC topical web page entails developing the content, creating ARC search links that return relevant hits from the catalog, designing web graphics according to a template, and encoding the pages. The intern will have the opportunity to develop one or more pages (on American wars, presidents and/or heritage months, depending on the intern's interests) from start to finish. The ARC staff will provide training on ARC search techniques and web design software, including Adobe Dreamweaver and Photoshop. The intern will learn about the ARC staff outreach program, methods for collecting feedback from internal and external users, and activities to enhance ARC in response to user needs and expectations.

Modern Records Programs

Malisa Lewis. Code: NARADC-07

The intern will receive an overview of the four programs within Modern Records and their role in NARA's mission and Strategic Plan. This would include tours or interviews with the program managers and other NARA leaders as appropriate. The remainder of the intern's time would be spent working more closely with the Life Cycle Management Division and the Electronic and Special Media Records Services Division. These two divisions are very involved in the creation, preservation and access of electronic records in the Federal government and the implementation of NARA Electronic Records Archives (ERA). Potential intern projects include participation in the appraisal of electronic records through an agency visit, review and analysis of electronic records management guidance products under development or in a project related to the transition for preserving and managing electronic records from legacy systems to ERA.

Development of Podcast/Vodcast Episodes based on the Presidential Timeline

Christa Lemelin. Code: NARADC-08

The Office of Presidential Libraries has created a podcast series, Presidential Archives Uncovered (http://www.archives.gov/presidential-libraries/research/podcasts.html), based on the holdings of the Presidential Timeline (http://www.presidentialtimeline.org). The intern would be responsible for creating additional episodes, including writing the brief historical introduction, producing the transcript, and editing the video using iMovie

Support for the Nixon Presidential Library and Museum Website

Code: NARADC-09

The Nixon Presidential Library and Museum launched a new web site in July. There are a number of projects and enhancements desired for the site. These include but are not limited to: adding metatags to pages; preparing tape subject logs for posting; completing metadata for posted pdf files; researching alternatives for a new photo gallery; and add additional photographs to the site.