BKBB Archives Intern Interview: Sade Trice

August 29, 2023

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Building Knowledge and Breaking Barriers

Summer 2023 BKBB Archives Intern Sade Trice (right) with their internship supervisor, Reference and Outreach Archivist Sonia Prescott (left)

In July, PHS welcomed BKBB Archives Intern Sade Trice. Read the interview below to hear about Sade's experience at the Presbyterian Historical Society.

What initially interested you in an internship at the Presbyterian Historical Society?

S: I realized that I was passionate about the librarianship field, so I wanted to explore opportunities that were in or closely related to that area. I enjoy researching, learning, and helping others, and it seemed like a great chance to do all those things.

What are some of the projects you worked on during your internship?

S: I mostly worked on writing up histories on various churches for the Historic Sites Registry map. It was somewhat challenging, but fun. I also picked out photos of the churches and learned how to scan and digitize them.

While at PHS, Sade worked with the history and records of the First African Presbyterian Church. This is an engraving of First African Presbyterian Church, Dedicated 1811, on 7th St. below Shipppen (Bainbridge). The background image is the First African Presbyterian Church Ladies' Gloucester Memorial Society minutes, 1910-1925.

What did you find surprising about working at an archive?

S: It was surprising to me just how much work goes into running an archive. All the different departments (processing, digitization, public services, development, social media, etc.) are each very important for preparing records for the public and helping the archive to thrive. It was interesting getting to learn about what each one entails.

What did you find challenging about the experience?

S: It was a bit challenging to prepare histories for the churches because I can be self-critical, and I wanted to pull as much important information as I could from the records while still staying within the character limit (1000 characters). However, the staff was extremely helpful and guided me every step of the way.

How does your experience at the Presbyterian Historical Society help support your professional or educational goals?

S: I am an English major who hopes to go on to get my MLIS in grad school one day. If I ever decide to work in an archive again, this internship under my belt will help since it would show that I have experience and give me an edge. It also helped me to hone my writing and research skills which are important in most areas of librarianship.

How do you think/hope Presbyterians should engage with their history?

S: I think even doing research at PHS or visiting their website would be a great way for Presbyterians to engage with their history. I learned lots of interesting things about Presbyterianism during my time here!

Please share any additional reflections about your time at PHS!

S: I got to look at some of the children’s books in the collection and I adored reading through them. I’ve always loved children’s literature and am thinking about working in youth librarianship in the future, so it was interesting for me!