My Internship Experience at Two Libraries

Finley Johnson, a recent high school graduate, completed an internship through the Work-Based Learning program at both the Fergus Falls Public Library and the Kennedy Secondary School Media Center during his spring trimester at KSS. This is his experience essay:

One of the first things I did during my internship at the Fergus Falls Public Library was create an educational event. Arielle McCune, the Youth Services Librarian, used that opportunity to have me test out the library’s stop-motion equipment. I created two of my own animations, each about 7 to 9 seconds long. After figuring out the logistics, I designed and posted the event flyer, and the registration filled almost immediately.

From Arielle, I learned how to plan and prepare for an event, as well as how the library manages its collection purchases. She showed me the budget and introduced me to the organizations and vendors they order from.

I also learned a great deal from Joshua Scharnberg, the KSS Media Specialist. Working with him, I gained insight into the school’s catalog system, and I even shared how the public library organizes its books to give him some new ideas for the media center. My favorite task in the school’s media center was cataloging the high school yearbooks. Because I am a part-time library aide at FFPL and Mr. Scharnberg is a former teacher earning his Master’s degree to become a certified librarian, we had a lot of great professional shorthand.

Since I have already worked at the public library for three years, I didn’t make many new connections there during this internship. However, through my time with Mr. Scharnberg, I got to know the other two staff members in the school media center much better.

Through both of these experiences, I learned new skills and confirmed things I already suspected. Because I already had great relationships established, I didn’t have to push myself too far out of my comfort zone to collaborate. However, I did realize that younger kids are more fun to work with than I expected. On the flip side, I discovered that I don’t particularly want to work with high schoolers.

This internship program benefits students by letting them experience the reality of their chosen field. For example, someone might want to be a surgeon to help people, but once they witness a surgery, they realize they can’t stand the sight of blood. This program lets us figure out which path we truly want to take, allowing us to pivot before investing years into a college major we might regret.

Looking ahead, I plan to attend M-State through the Blue and Gold scholarship to take advantage of the free tuition. I will then transfer to Minnesota State Moorhead to finish my four-year degree before pursuing a Master’s in Library Science. There is a strong possibility I will earn my teaching license along the way so that if I do decide to become a school librarian down the road, I won’t have to return to school later.

Ultimately, this internship helped me more than I anticipated. It made me realize how much I enjoy working with younger children and confirmed that I want to avoid the purely administrative, behind-the-scenes side of library work. I love interacting with people, and I’ve gained the confidence to pursue a teaching license—just in case a school library is where I ultimately end up.