How to Identify/Create a Capstone Opportunity

Before you read this, make sure you’ve read the Capstone Homepage.


Remember to be Fearless, Savvy, and Disruptive!

Fearless -- Build a network. Find mentors. Advocate for yourself.

Savvy -- Make your own opportunities.

Disruptive -- Think outside the box when choosing a site or project.


Whether you choose Option A or Option B, the capstone provides you with the opportunity to take a huge step in your career as an information professional. One critical part of this assignment is your ability to create your own opportunities. This is a soft skill that will be essential to your professional success.

Design your capstone experience around your interests (not the other way around). For example, if you want to be an academic librarian, don’t “settle” for a public library practicum. Instead, be creative. Look for a community college or a small liberal arts college nearby. Look for a practicum online. BUT be flexible, too. Remember that you have a toolkit full of knowledge and skills that can be applied in a variety of situations and institutions. If you don’t find something, think about how you can create it.

Keep this in mind! There is a wealth of need in the library and information community. You must think about how you can meet some of those needs and then clearly and persuasively advocate for yourself with a specific institution.

How to find opportunities/get ideas

  • Check out the LIS jobs board at https://soe.uncg.edu/academics/departments/lis/lis-careers-and-organizations/jobs/

    • You may find the right opportunity listed here under “UNCG LIS Practicum” or “Internship”

    • You may also get ideas for things you’d like to try that you can build on as you construct a custom Capstone Experience

  • Call a local library where you’re interested in working (or that is similar to where you’d like to work) and ask if they have opportunities or ideas

  • Talk to your advisor

  • Ask current or former students what they hope to do or did

  • Talk to Sonia Archer-Capuzzo (smarcher@uncg.edu)

  • “It’s not what you know; it’s who you know.” If you aren’t sure who to contact at a given library, see if a faculty member, fellow student, or alum knows someone at that library. We can help you get your foot in the door.

Questions to Ask Yourself

Questions to ask yourself:


  • What area(s) of librarianship are most interesting/exciting to me?

    • If you’re not sure yet and you’re in your first year in the program, that’s ok. Come back to this question at the end of each semester.

    • If you’re not sure yet and you’re in your second or third year in the program, it’s time to narrow things down a bit. Talk to your advisor.


  • Will Option A or Option B be a better choice for me?

    • This may change as you near your final semester, so reevaluate at the end of each semester.

  • What are my strengths and weaknesses and how might these affect my performance in my dream job?

    • This is a learning opportunity, so take some risks. If you’re scared of public speaking but know you need to get better at it, design a Field Experience that will give you regular public speaking opportunities.

    • Not sure what you need to be able to do for your dream job? Check out job ads on job boards for ALA and/or other institutions that overlap with your interests.

  • What PLOs are most important for my focus in this program, and how can I design an experience that helps me meet those PLOs? (See the Capstone Rubric for assistance)

  • How can I enunciate my specific goals for my Capstone Experience?

Questions to Ask a Potential Supervisor

  • What will this experience entail?

    • Some sites simply have a student work on a project in-house, while others incorporate mentoring, readings, experience in several departments, or other “extras.”

  • What are your goals for this project/experience?

  • How much oversight/independence can I expect?

  • For Option A: Where will this experience take place (onsite, online)?

  • For Option A: Will this experience entail at least 120 contact hours?

  • For Option B: What sort(s) of deliverables does the supervisor expect at the end of your project?

  • Will my supervisor for my Capstone Experience hold an MLIS or similar degree or certification?

If you want to be a/an

Public Librarian

  • Check with your local public library. You may want to check at multiple branches.

  • Be clear about the area(s) of the library on which you want to focus.

  • Some community organizations have small libraries open to members of the public that could give you great experience.

Academic Librarian

  • Don’t just look at big universities. There are small colleges and community colleges all over the country that can provide excellent hands-on experience and would be overjoyed to have you work with them.

  • Be clear about the area(s) of the library on which you want to focus.

Cataloger/Metadata Librarian

  • You can get valuable experience in any number of institutions, so stay open-minded.

  • For students in North Carolina, UNCG has a partnership with the State Library and the NC Cardinal Consortium in which we can place practicum students interested in cataloging at member libraries (most public) throughout the state, and they can work on state-wide projects.

Archivist/Special Collections Librarian

  • Don’t look just at archives and special collections at universities.

  • Check out public library local history rooms.

  • Look into working with museums.

  • Consider overlapping your practicum with a cataloging, metadata, or digital projects emphasis.

  • Some community organizations have large collections of paperwork and ephemera that need organizing.

Digital Collections Librarian

  • Don’t limit yourself to one type of institution, but be aware that many digital projects are based in larger universities and public libraries at this time for funding reasons.

  • Consider overlapping with cataloging, metadata, archives, special collections, or other areas.

Information Professional Outside a Library

  • The world is your oyster! Look at libraries, museums, community organizations, tech companies, and other types of businesses.

  • Stay focused on one or two aspects of information curation, organization, access, etc.

School Media Librarian

You’re in the wrong place! :) Talk to Tammy Gruer ASAP.