The Smathers Undergraduate Student Internship Program provides semester-based student internships in the George A. Smathers Libraries. Internship proposal awards are made annually via a competitive process open to all library staff and faculty and are generously funded by the Dean of the University Libraries. Proposals require at least one staff or faculty member in the Libraries to serve as the Internship Director. The Program provides a supportive environment for those who wish to gain experience conceptualizing, writing, and administering small grants and internship projects.
Four categories of internships are possible, though not all are offered each semester: Library Collections, User Engagement, Outreach, and Special Projects. A template for the internships has been prepared to facilitate proposal creation (see below).
Student internships benefit the Libraries and foster collaboration across campus while providing students with experiential learning opportunities. Internships are open to all UF undergraduate students, with preference given to currently employed Library Student Assistants. Remote or online internships will need specific approval from departmental and affiliated administrative units.
Internships may have a duration of one, or two semesters for Fall and, Spring. Internships are project based, so one student may be retained for the entire project or multiple students may work on the project sequentially.
Awards:
The funding provided by the Program is exclusively for the undergraduate student intern’s wages. The hourly rate of pay will be $15 for a maximum of 160 hours per awarded semester (based on a typical internship of 10 hours per week, for a maximum of 16 weeks per semester Fall, and Spring).
Student Eligibility:
Library Student Assistants are eligible to apply for the Program, are encouraged to do so, and will receive additional consideration in the evaluative rubric. All undergraduate student applicants must be active and in good standing in their academic program and must possess the requisite skills and knowledge indicated in the minimum requirements of the internship to which they apply. Students must be eligible to work within the parameters of the award as described and must have submitted a completed application for the internship prior to the posted close date. International students are welcome to apply as long as they qualify to work in the United States. Current Library Student Assistants awarded a library internship may not work in the same department for both positions.
Contacts:
The Internship Program Committee is available for assistance in developing internship proposals. Email LibraryUndergradInternship@ad.ufl.edu with any questions.
Each internship proposal will be evaluated by the Undergraduate Internship Program Committee according to the following criteria and recommended to the Dean of the University Libraries in priority order based on the highest scoring proposals. Please note that an Internship Director may only hold one internship at any time.
| Evaluative Area | Points |
|---|---|
| Conformance to proposal requirements and quality of proposal | 10 |
| Quality of proposed project and likelihood of successful completion | 15 |
| Value of the benefits to the Libraries (e.g., Strategic Directions) | 15 |
| Value of the benefits to the Proposed Library Department, Unit, or Collection | 15 |
| Value of the benefits to the intern | 25 |
| Opportunities that are timely or time-sensitive (e.g., closely aligned with a current major event/initiative/project; supports externally funded project) | 10 |
| Internship Director is a first-time applicant to the Smathers Undergraduate Internship Program | 10 |
| Prior internships have been successfully completed | y/n |
| Supervisor has signed off on the submitted proposal | y/n |
All proposal submissions will be reviewed and rated by the Undergraduate Internship Program Committee. To create a strong proposal, applicants should closely follow the requirements stated here and should familiarize themselves with the evaluation criteria. Applicants may reach out to committee members for guidance or advice on preparing and submitting proposals.
The Committee will provide feedback on submitted proposals and may request or suggest revisions. The Committee is able to support at least one round of review of proposals for each internship deadline; proposals needing more extensive revisions will be recommended for the next application cycle. Submitters will have one week to submit revisions after receiving feedback from the Internship Committee. The Committee will then score all submitted and revised proposals according to this rubric. All scored proposals will be evaluated by the Smathers Libraries Administration, who will ultimately determine if the internship assignment is approved.
Awarded proposals will be loaded into the IR@UF with a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License. Awarded internships are recommended to be cited/listed as internally funded awards on the internship director’s curriculum vita or resume and performance evaluations.
Applicants must have supervisor approval prior to submitting proposals to the committee. Email electronic copies of all documents to the Undergraduate Internship Program Committee including an electronic copy of the coversheet with signatures.
Deadlines and Schedules:
Deadlines for proposals are as follows (*new in 2025 summer internships);
Applications must be submitted electronically to LibraryUndergradInternship@ad.ufl.edu by 5pm on the deadline date.
The Internship Program Committee will review proposals upon receipt and aim to have feedback to submitters in a timely fashion to allow for resubmission. Notification of awards will be made in the following month.
The Undergraduate Internship Committee sends notification to the Internship Director, sends an All-Staff announcement, and posts all awarded proposals to the IR@UF (with a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License) and linked from the Internship Program website.
Library Human Resources will advertise a position vacancy announcement based on the approved internship proposal. The internship director will review, interview and select applicants. They will keep HR up to date on the status of the selection process.
Internship directors can select the type of reporting at the conclusion of the project. Examples include report to joint chairs/townhall, library shoutouts, social media posts, and Source articles.
Funds accounting is a critical part of grant and project management. Awards are semesterly based, and consist of funding for $15 per hour, up to 10 hours a week, for a maximum total of 160 hours (16 weeks) per semester. We encourage internship supervisors to keep track of hours worked so as to not go over budget. The committee is here to provide recommendations on how best to accomplish this. You can also reach out to Joe Piazza, our committee, or our Grants team for assistance in the management of your award.
The internship director will evaluate the intern prior to the internship’s end date. Possible topics of discussion might include the overall process of the internship, what went well, the application process, what could have gone better, and suggestions for improving the process in the future.
A non-confidential survey will be sent to the intern, and a separate survey to the internship director. The responses will be sent to the Undergraduate Internship Committee for consideration in advancing the program.
The internship director will select an appropriate means of communicating the results of the internship to a wider audience. Examples may include a Library town hall presentation, departmental presentation, social media posts, Source magazine article, and/or other publication (maybe with intern as co-author). Internship directors are encouraged to work with the Director of Communications to develop a strategy for disseminating the outcome.
Students may use the Smathers Undergraduate Internship for course credit but are responsible for making arrangements with their academic department.
The Internship Program Committee is charged to support the Smathers Undergraduate Student Internship Program. Specific advisory and operational activities include:
Committee members shall be library staff and faculty. Members will serve two-year terms.
This work (Internship Program Committee Charge), by the Smathers Undergraduate Internship Program Committee is free of known copyright restrictions.
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