March 12, 2010 --The National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program again hosted two interns as part of the University of Michigan, School of Information (external link) Alternative Spring Break Program (external link). Kate Flynn and Lindsey Williams, two graduate students, spent their Spring break interning with NDIIPP during the first week of March.
Flynn and Williams of the University of Michigan School of Information.
Flynn and Williams gained real-world experience by working with the NDIIPP communications team and participating in a variety of digital preservation programs. They also tested a new tool developed to explore digital collections. "Rather than seeing digital preservation from a strictly archival perspective, the Library of Congress approaches it from every perspective. People from various backgrounds are coming together to get a shared message across to a very broad audience," said Williams.
The students also supplemented a report done by last year’s Michigan interns on improving the usability of the NDIIPP website digitalpreservation.gov. "I really learned to think about the different levels of experience users will have. It's important to provide resources for experienced digital preservationists but it's also important to educate those who don’t know much about digital preservation on why preserving their digital content is important," commented Flynn.
Although this opportunity was a week long, these interns feel they have accomplished a lot and eager to return to school with a fresh perspective on digital preservation.
