Title: Library Intern
Location: New York City, NY 10018
Type: Internship
Supervisor: Managing Director, Communications
Last Day to Apply: April 1, 2010

The Drug Policy Alliance has an immediate opening for a Library Intern.

Drug Policy Alliance

The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) is the nation's leading organization seeking to dramatically alter drug policy here and around the world. DPA fights for drug policies based on science, compassion, health and human rights. The work is grounded in the principles of harm reduction, an approach that seeks to minimize the negative consequences of both drug use and drug policies.  DPA's work encompasses a wide array of policy issues, including:

• Sentencing reform and alternatives to incarceration 
• Harm reduction (HIV, hepatitis C and overdose prevention) 
• Ending marijuana prohibition, marijuana decriminalization, medical marijuana 
• Drug education, youth and drugs 
• Race and the drug war 
• Effective drug treatment 
• Civil liberties and rights 
• International drug control 
• Alternatives to prohibition and pragmatic steps for ending the drug war

In the last 12 years, DPA has expanded from its New York headquarters to include seven offices, 46 staff, 26,000 dues-paying members and over 100,000 online subscribers.  It has a growing track record of success at the local, state, and federal levels and is increasingly visible in prominent media and policy circles. 

The Position

Assist the Communications Department with the maintenance of the Lindesmith Library.  The Lindesmith Library is one of the world's leading resources for scientific information on drug policy as well as an outstanding source of information on drug policy reform. The collection of contemporary and historical articles, books, and films is unmatched, and the services of the library play a critical role in advancing an honest and informed public discourse about drug issues.

The Lindesmith Library was founded in 1995 and named after Professor Alfred Lindesmith of Indiana University, the first prominent scholar in the U.S. to challenge conventional thinking about drugs, addiction, and drug policy. The collection contains more than 15,000 books, audio recordings, articles, and videos focusing on drugs and drug policy from economic, criminal justice, public health and other perspectives.

The internship is unpaid and begins immediately.

Primary Responsibilities 

• Checking-in newly arrived periodicals and disposing newspapers and magazines based on existing retention schedules
• Reference: retrieving requested items and information using the library collection as well as the electronic database Academic Search Complete from EBSCOhost and other external sources
• Cataloging items such as books and journal articles
• Maintaining and improving currently existing catalog records
• Reviewing for federal resources available on-line, enabling print editions to be discarded
• Reviewing and weeding vertical files of journal articles for materials available online in full-text on Academic Search Complete

Based in DPA's New York City headquarters, the Library Intern will be part of DPA's Communications team and report to the Managing Director of Communications.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate will have:

• At least one completed semester at an accredited library and information science masters degree program is required. 
• At least one completed cataloging class, some familiarity with AACR2 cataloging standards, previous library experience, and/or experience in substance abuse related work are pluses.

Though much of the internship is administrative, there is tremendous opportunity to learn how to manage a medium-sized special library collection from start to finish. The ideal intern will be highly organized, have a good sense of humor, be able to work with minimum supervision, and be able to commit enough time to keep the library and its materials current.  In return, the volunteer will have the chance to work with a highly skilled and fun team of committed people.

Compensation

This is an unpaid internship

Deadline

April 1, 2010

Application Process

Please submit a cover letter and resume to David B. Abbott, Office Manager at dabbott@drugpolicy.org

Drug Policy Alliance is an Equal Opportunity Employer.  Women, people of color, and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply. We are particularly interested in hiring those who have been adversely affected by the war on drugs.