Student Trainee (Librarian)

Full Job Description

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress.

We accomplish our mission by providing objective and reliable information and analysis to the Congress, to federal agencies, and to the public, and recommending improvements, when appropriate, on a wide variety of issues to make government work better.

This vacancy is for Summer internship positions. The anticipated start dates begin in May 2026. All qualification requirements must be met by the start of the internship.

All Student Trainees (Librarian) must be enrolled in a graduate or equivalent degree seeking program AND meet the Basic Educational Requirement of professional education in library science or possess equivalent experience and/or education as shown below.

You must have completed between 18 to 35 semester hours or 27 to 53 quarter hours of graduate level education in library science in an accredited college or university, in addition to completion of all work required for a bachelor's degree; OR 5 years of a combination of college-level education, training, and experience.

To qualify on this basis, the applicant must establish conclusively that the education, training, and experience provided a knowledge and understanding of the theories, principles, and techniques of professional librarianship; a knowledge of literature resources; and the knowledge and abilities essential for providing effective library and information services.

In addition to the Basic Education Requirement above; to minimally qualify for the GS-09, you must be enrolled in a graduate or equivalent degree seeking program, AND possess equivalent experience and/or directly related education as shown below.

You have 36 or more semester hours or 54 or more quarter hours of graduate level education or master's in library science or equivalent graduate degree, e.g., LL.B.

or J.D., related to the position.; OR You must have one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience at GS-07 grade level in the federal service or Public sector.

Specialized experience is defined as, experience related to Library services which demonstrates all of the following: participate in a variety of responsibilities related to collection development and resource evaluation and testing, evaluate current publications and electronic resources and provides recommendations for renewal, and prepare routine responses based on research gathered to address inquiries.

NOTE: You must be a current student enrolled in a graduate program seeking a degree from an accredited educational institution on a full or half-time basis.

If at any point during the internship (and for any reason) your status as a student changes to that of a non-student, your internship will be terminated. Major Duties:

Interns will work on various assignments.

Duties include: Executes searches of varying complexity using a wide variety of electronic information retrieval systems, bibliographic databases, and other resources.

Works with team members on area specific tasks including designing and managing a variety of systems; or developing search techniques for handling specific various research requests.

Assists in researching various topics based on inquiries from mission teams, agency attorneys, and external customers and prepares routine responses based on research gathered to address inquiries.

Participates in a wide variety of duties related to collection development and resource evaluation, testing, and access, including subject guide development within the LibGuides platform; evaluation of current and identification of new research resources; and participating in other projects that increase access to digital library materials, systems, and services.

Collaborates with senior Librarians to design and manage a variety of systems including all electronic resources throughout their life cycle of access, administration, support, and evaluation; or develops and executes specialized research projects involving various methodologies.

Prepares and/or revises user manuals or information sheets and distributes information on new system capabilities and search strategies.

Performs a variety of responsibilities related to website development, knowledge organization systems, and metadata, including creating and editing taxonomies in taxonomy management software; evaluating metadata for quality and accuracy; organizing internal content using established vocabularies; and other projects utilizing organization of information skills.