Website Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library
Summary
The Winterthur Library Graduate Internship supports emerging library professionals with an interest in special collections librarianship, particularly in the areas of art, design, history, and material culture.
Part of Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library, Winterthur Library is an independent research center whose extraordinary collections of rare books, manuscripts, and archives document and preserve the history of decorative arts and material culture, with particular focus on the art, craft, and culture of the Americas from the 17th through 21st centuries. In addition, the Winterthur Archives document Winterthur’s own history as a home, museum, garden, and premier Americana collection.
Under the guidance of Winterthur’s Special Collections Cataloging and Metadata Librarian, the Winterthur Library Graduate Intern will gain hands-on experience cataloging for these distinctive collections, enhancing description and access for materials across a range of formats, languages, and eras. The variety of objects to be cataloged may include rare books, bound manuscripts, trade catalogs, realia, and unique bound formats such as swatch and sample books. This internship is semester-based and will last approximately 15 weeks during the fall, spring, or summer semesters, with the possibility to work consecutive semesters. There is also potential to work with a candidate’s institution to satisfy credit requirements with this internship.
Key Details
Compensation: $20/hour
Duration: 15 weeks (Spring 2027)
Schedule: 20 hours/week
Deadline: ASAP (Posted October 16, 2026)
Eligibility
Minimum Experience: B.A. in a humanities discipline, preferably American studies, art history, history, literature, or a related field of study, required. Must be currently enrolled in a master’s degree in Library and Information Science from an ALA-accredited program, or an equivalent degree program with experience and/or training that specifically address the skills required for the position.
Preferred Experience: Coursework or interest in cataloging and metadata, archives management, digital humanities, special collections librarianship, and/or museum studies strongly preferred.
Knowledge/Skills:
- Excellent communication, organization, time management, problem-solving, and research skills.
- Experience with or strong interest in cataloging, particularly for rare materials and special collections.
- Experience with or strong interest in librarianship in an academic, research, museum, or other special library setting.
- Demonstrated knowledge of cataloging as an area of practice, including familiarity with content and data structure standards (MARC, DACS, and EAD); descriptive standards (RDA, AACR2, and the DCRM suite); controlled vocabularies such as Library of Congress Subject Headings, RBMS Controlled Vocabulary, and the Art & Architecture Thesaurus; Library of Congress Classification; and authority control principles.
- Experience with an automated or integrated library system (for example FOLIO, Koha, SirsiDynix Symphony, or Ex Libris Alma), ArchivesSpace or similar archival management platform, and digital content management systems (for example AM Quartex, Terentia, or Islandora).
- Familiarity with principles of critical cataloging and reparative description, and with metadata-focused equity initiatives and resources.
- Reading knowledge of one or more languages other than English, preferably French, Dutch, German, Italian, Latin, or Spanish.
- Familiarity with data mapping, querying, and transformation, via tools such as MarcEdit and OpenRefine or programming languages such as Python and SQL.
About
Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library encompasses an unrivaled museum of American decorative arts in its mansion and galleries and a magnificent 60-acre naturalistic garden—all set on 1,000 gorgeous acres.
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To apply for this job please visit winterthurmuseum.applytojob.com.