Internship Experience

This summer, we had a DU student, Kayla O'Grady, who came to the department and completed an internship over the course of the summer. She provided us with lots of research and help on various projects. She was fun and did excellent work. Kayla is our guest blogger today and here, in her own words, is what she has to say:

"This summer I completed an internship with the Western History and Genealogy Department at the Denver Public Library. I anticipated working with books, and lots of them, but from day one I was immersed in several projects that--surprisingly--lacked in bound pages of information. I quickly learned that not only does the WHG Department house books, but its holdings also contain maps, photographs, newspapers, newspaper clippings, several rolls of microfilm, and so much more. Not only are many of these resources available for public research and use, but there are also several exhibits all throughout the DPL to view and enjoy. My favorites this summer were the Pastels exhibit on the seventh floor and the Helen Henderson Chain exhibit on the fifth floor. Amazingly enough, even the materials used to aid the exhibits, such as pamphlets and information boards, are designed by the DPL team. The Helen Henderson Chain exhibit was thoroughly enchanting for me, because it presented actual paintings she created, personal items of hers, and several visual aids that made me feel fully involved, and better informed about who she was. Even still, there are several things I worked on and became aware of that changed my view of a library as solely a house for books. Ultimately, the WHG Department, and the entire Denver Public Library as a whole, contains a wealth of information in various forms, some oldies-but-goodies like books and newspapers, and others new and exciting like Ancestry.com: Library Edition. I am grateful to have spent time this summer in the library, and the amount of resources available was truly remarkable to discover, but I guess you will have to make the trip down and see for yourself!"

Thanks Kayla, for all of your help in WHG, and all the staff here in WHG wish you great luck and success on your future endeavors!