Work, Intern, & Volunteer Opportunities at MHS
Employment
Director of Development
The Maine Historical Society seeks a full-time development professional to manage all phases of its fundraising activity, including major gifts, board relations, annual giving, and institutional support. Reporting to the Executive Director, the successful candidate will plan activities and goals for the MHS Development Office, which includes a membership coordinator and the marketing/communications manager. Founded in 1822, the Society is located in Portland, Maine, and consists of the MHS Museum, the Brown Research Library, the Wadsworth-Longfellow House (a national historic landmark); the Maine Memory Network (a statewide online museum), and various educational and publishing services.
Qualifications: superior personal and communication skills; at least five years of development experience in a comparable institution; record of fund-raising accomplishment; demonstrable interest in history, culture, education.
Send letter, resume, and list of four references to: Richard D'Abate, Executive Director, Maine Historical Society, 489 Congress St. Portland ME 04101. EOE. Electronic submissions also accepted. Send to sarchbald@mainehistory.org. Applications close August 13, 2010. No phone inquiries, please.
Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteer to work with Maine Jewish War Veterans
Looking for a person who would enjoy working with the Maine Jewish War Veterans. Tasks would include library research, internet use, e-mailing, phone calls and an occasional meeting.
The goal of this effort is to assist these gentlemen in completing, to the extent possible, their efforts to identify and record the names of Jewish war veterans from Maine, especially those killed in action, in WWI, WWII and the Civil War.
Please contact Susan Cummings-Lawrence, Coordinator of the Maine Jewish History Initiative at Maine Historical Society. Telephone 207-799-9257.
Other Volunteer Opportunities
Many and varied opportunities are available to volunteers at Maine Historical, where over one hundred people contribute their various talents to assist in fulfilling the Society's mission.
Jobs both active and sedentary are available in the Research Library, the Wadsworth–Longfellow House, the Garden, Museum Gallery, Maine Memory Network, Educational Department, Administration and Development, and Building and Grounds. Board and Committee members are an important part of our volunteer team.
Opportunities include collections processing, data entry, typing, indexing, scanning and photographing historic items, inventorying collections, assisting Museum and House visitors and Library patrons, and conducting general historical and genealogical research for those who cannot visit.
Many special skills are needed to assist in the smooth operation of our varied functions, programs and events, and might include experience in publishing, fundraising, library, archival or museum curatorship, graphic design or computers.
Most volunteer jobs will take place at the Society's Campus at 485–489 Congress Street, Portland, but some projects may be done at home — for example, typing, indexing, or data entry. Daily, weekly, monthly, seasonal or occasional commitments may be arranged.
Click here for the online application form.
Or send a resume and cover letter to:
Volunteer Program
Maine Historical Society
489 Congress Street
Portland, ME 04101
Internships
MHS offers several exciting internship opportunities for high school, college and graduate students.
All internships are unpaid, but college credit can be worked out with most educational institutions. Internships vary according to individual needs and goals of the student and MHS.
If you are interested in any of the following programs, please fill out this online application form.
Or mail a resume and cover letter to:
Internship Program
Maine Historical Society
489 Congress Street
Portland, ME 04101
Multimedia Internships
The Maine Memory Network, a statewide repository of digital source documents, is seeking interns and volunteers to staff our digital imaging center. Training will include handling historical documents, digital reproduction (scanning and photography), and editing with Photoshop. Only basic knowledge of computers is necessary, and we will provide training. Click here for the online application form.
Library & Archives Internships
Library Facade at 485 Congress St.
Library and Archives Interns are exposed to original and secondary special library and archives materials held by Maine Historical Society.
The internship will give an overview to the archive repository with a balance between issues of access and preservation in both Technical Services and Reference Services. Duties could include ready reference, research, correspondence, processing, cataloging, sorting, arranging, describing, and other library and archives tasks.
Computer skills (Microsoft Windows, etc.) are highly preferable, but this is not simply a data–entry project.
The aim is to expose the intern to a variety of activities, projects, and collections encountered in the special collections of a statewide historical society and its Research Library, which is the "library of record" for the study of the history of Maine and its people. Click here for the online application form.
New England Regional Fellowship Consortium
Maine Historical Society is a member of the New England Regional Fellowship Consortium.
This collaboration of 18 major research libraries in New England includes the six state historical societies and five special collections libraries at Harvard, among others. It awards $5,000 stipends to up to 12 serious researchers to support a minimum of eight weeks' work in three or more of the member libraries, stressing research with original primary documents.
Please see the NERCF website for more information and application information.
Portland History Docents Program
Portland History Docent Program (PHD) is a collaborative effort by Greater Portland Landmarks, The Maine Historical Society, Tate House Museum, Portland Harbor Museum, and Victoria Mansion. Each February, these five organizations join forces to provide a twelve-week training program for new volunteer guides at each organization’s respective museum site. PHD graduates are asked to commit to a year of volunteer time at one of the five sponsoring sites. In return they receive knowledge, experience, and friendships that will last a lifetime! PHD graduates who volunteer with MHS give tours of the Wadsworth-Longfellow House. To sign up for the next PHD Program, contact Bill Hall, the Coordinator of Portland’s History Docents Program, 207-774-5561 ext. 120.