Summary

The Art Institute of Chicago’s Research Center is excited to offer a McMullan Arts Leadership intern position to work with their Ryerson and Burnham Library’s Collection Services team on a metadata enhancement project. The Collection Services team is dedicated to improving access to our collections by expanding and enhancing metadata in response to researcher needs. As such, our standards around collection description are in a constant state of evolution. The RBL collection has been in development for over 120 years, and has over 700,000 items. Metadata enhancement to enact evolutionary improvements requires thoughtful and dedicated effort in such a large and historic collection. This project focuses on the materiality of the item, and enhances bibliographic records based on how an item is constructed, as opposed to what an item is about.

The intern will gain experience with collection handling, controlled vocabularies, and bibliographic description in our LMS, Alma. The intern will apply a genre and form vocabulary consistently to ensure that the bibliographic metadata we are entering becomes practical on the discovery side of our LMS. They will contribute to updating documentation, as needed, further ensuring standardized entry across the cataloging team. The collection items being enhanced will include both regular stack and special collections, giving the intern a range of collection handling experience. The intern will be encouraged to share interesting collection discoveries through both in person and written modalities.

The intern will join a museum-wide intern cohort and have access to a range of programs to support their development in addition to their placement in the Research Center. Mentorship is provided throughout the experience, and connections with an intern alumni network will be established.

Duration of Position: 32 weeks / September 2026 (start date anytime during the week of September 21–25) through April 2027 (end date anytime during the week of April 26–April 30).

Key Details

Compensation: $17.50/hour

Term: 32 weeks (September 2026 – April 2027)

Schedule: PT (max. 14 hours/week)

Format: The internship will be a hybrid of onsite and remote work. Due to onsite necessity, applicants based or attending school in the Chicagoland area during the internship timeframe will be prioritized. Internet access and appropriate technology will be necessary to complete this internship; technological accommodations will be provided by the Art Institute of Chicago based on necessity.

Deadline: 07/27/2026 (11:59 PM CDT)

Eligibility

Qualifications

• Undergraduate or graduate student; recent graduates (within one year of graduation) will also be considered;
• Applicants must be based in the Chicagoland area and/or attending school in the Chicagoland area over the course of the internship term;
• Interest in, current enrollment, or recently graduated from a Library or Information Science Masters program;
• Understanding of cataloging principles preferred;
• Flexible when working independently, with supervision, or as part of a team;
• Experience with Google Suite and video conferencing software;
• Interest in learning workflows in Library Management System (LMS);
• Detail oriented with strong written and verbal communication skills.

About

The Art Institute of Chicago shares its singular collections with our city and the world. We collect, care for, and interpret works of art across time, cultures, geographies, and identities. We are a place of gathering and learning, committed to fostering an inclusive understanding of human creativity.

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