For me a co-op in Cleveland was my first choice. I can stay with family, take public transportation, and there were plenty of museums and libraries. Now that I’ve explored the city more, I know my decision was well made. I love walking around and exploring new places to eat. Cleveland is not just walkable it is extremely bike friendly. Everyone that I have met in this city has a bike and loves bikes. After I decided on my location for my co-op I began to search for internship opportunities in museum archives. Eventually, I came across the Jewish Archives Processing Intern position at the Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland History Center. I am very grateful I did!
Sean Martin is the Curator for Jewish History here at the Western Reserve Historical Society. He has also been my internship supervisor. I really have appreciated his guidance. I especially appreciated the syllabus which set out clear goals, and introduced me to different readings and other informational works.
My typical day starts off with my bike ride to the train station. Once I arrive at my stop I have a short bike ride the Cleveland History Center. I work mainly on processing collections, so I am not usually in the front part of the museum. Collections may consist of material such as photographs, a variety of correspondence, certificates, and more! Processing is the organizational step that necessary before any of the collection is publicly viewed, or requested by researchers. The material is sorted into an order, and any irrelevant material is removed from the collection.
