2011 Junior Fellow Brian Horowitz of Montgomery College, Maryalnd

1. What is your background? 

I hail from Silver Spring, Maryland, about fifteen miles away from the Library. I currently attend Montgomery College where I am studying Psychology and Neuroscience. Before starting college I had the opportunity to live in Israel where I studied Jewish texts such as the Talmud. It was a once in a lifetime experience.

2. How did you learn about the intern program and why did you want to work at the Library of Congress?

I came to the Library of Congress last summer through a partnership between Montgomery College and the Library of Congress. I enjoyed my internship experience so much that I applied for the Junior Fellows Program. It is gratifying to work at an institution that preserves and acquires materials that are monumental to human civilization and to America’s history. It is very rewarding to help the Library continue to achieve its mission of making materials more accessible to researchers and the public. 

3. How would you describe your internship?

I created a detailed inventory of approximately four thousand un-inventoried technical manuals from the U.S. Department of the Army, Training Publications. These manuals began publication in the 1940’s in support of operations and equipment for the U.S. Army.  They were received at the Library of Congress as a government depository, as well as an exchange from other libraries, until the early 1970s. I am happy to learn that my work has been posted on other websites and blogs.  My supervisor, Michelle Cadoree-Bradley, has provided invaluable guidance to me and has made my time at the Library enjoyable. I have also taken advantage of the various programs that the Library offers and have learned about its various divisions.

4. What has amazed you the most about the Library?

The Library’s book stacks are amazing. There is nothing more exciting than having the ability to wander through the ‘stacks’ and see the seemingly endless topics that people have chosen to write about. I love randomly opening up dusty books, which can have a distinctive smell and a unique “feel.”

5. What have you learned about the Library that you didn’t know before you started your internship?

I never knew that in its efforts to foster the love of learning and reading in young children, The Center for the Book had opened a Young Reader Center. It’s a great place that I think will affect many children.  I wish I had the opportunity to visit the Young Readers Center while growing up. I would have been there all day!

Brian is the author of  As American as Peanut Butter and Jelly, the  Art of War…and of Sandwich Making, and Stumbled upon in the Stacks- a brief biography of Brevet Major Alfred Mordecai.