Five Questions, Intern Edition: Kelsey Moore, 2024 Junior Fellow

What is your background?

After completing my undergraduate degrees in Information Science and Spanish at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, I am continuing my studies there to earn a Master’s in Library and Information Science. Though I have been living in Greensboro throughout my higher education, I often spend my breaks traveling back to my hometown of Marshfield, Wisconsin. During these visits to see my family, I am also able to return to one of my favorite creative outlets—weaving. When I was 12 years old, my grandma taught me how to weave rugs on a loom that has been in our family for seven generations. While staying in Washington, D.C. this summer, I found reminders of home by exploring museum exhibits on textiles and discovering the weaving section in the stacks below the Science & Business Reading Room.

How did you learn about the intern program and why did you want to work at the Library of Congress?

Though I have known that I wanted to be a librarian since I was a young girl, I had not imagined working at the Library of Congress as a possibility. Two years ago, I learned about the Junior Fellows Program when an upperclassman in my undergraduate program worked as a summer intern at the Library. Seeing one of my classmates obtain such an amazing opportunity encouraged me to visualize myself in a similar position and gave me the confidence to apply. The Junior Fellow project that captured my attention most during the application process was Banking History Uncovered: Crafting a Guide for the American Bankers Association Papers. Since I am focusing my studies on business librarianship, this project stood out to me as an introduction to business research topics and a way to connect with and learn from business librarians.

How would you describe your internship?

Every day working at the Library entailed a new adventure. Though I spent many hours in the office working on my project, the Junior Fellows Program offered me and my fellow interns professional development sessions, guided tours of various divisions, and opportunities to build connections with each other. Throughout this internship, I appreciated the support provided by my mentor, Lynn Weinstein. To reach our goals of organizing and increasing the accessibility of the American Bankers Association pamphlet collection, Lynn directed me in research, helped me put together a library guide, and gave me feedback on my preparations for display day. In just ten short weeks, I gained a well-rounded experience of librarianship at the Library of Congress by shadowing at the reference desk, attending reference forums, and visiting other departments in addition to fulfilling my project responsibilities.

What amazed you most about the Library?

I could not help but be amazed by how expansive the Library is in both its spaces and collections. While it is no mystery that it is the largest library in the world, it wasn’t until I began walking through the tunnels every day and getting lost in the hallways that it dawned on me how vast the Library is beyond the Great Hall. During my time with the Business Section, I also had the chance to take multiple trips to the stacks of the Adams building, which has 180 miles of shelving. Though the collections range far and wide between the three buildings and additional facilities, the Library of Congress continues to add 10,000 items a day. Regardless of how many reading rooms, departments, and collections I have visited throughout this internship, I have merely scratched the surface of everything the Library has to offer.

What have you learned about the Library that you didn’t know before you started your internship?

One of the things that I didn’t know or expect before my time here was how many different paths could lead to working here. Pursuing a library degree is not the only way to acquire a position at the Library as there are workers in the Business Section with MBAs, people in preservation with backgrounds in chemistry, and so many others with different skillsets that help them carry out the mission of the Library. Since the Library is so expansive, there are also many opportunities to switch divisions and develop new skills for obtaining higher positions, making the possibilities for personal growth and career development here seem endless.