Winterthur Library Graduate Intern

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.

Winterthur employs a wide array of positions in the areas of curatorial, horticulture, education, conservation, library, maintenance, marketing, development, technology, and administration.

Winterthur offers a unique and rewarding experience that is rich in culture and natural beauty. Winterthur considers its employees and volunteers to be among its greatest assets and welcomes applications from candidates who will contribute their specific skills to its mission “to inspire, enlighten, and delight all of its visitors while preserving and enhancing [Winterthur]” and also uphold its core values of agility, excellence, innovation, integrity, inclusion, and transparency.

JOB DESCRIPTION:

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.  

Compensation: $20.00 per hour

Benefits: 403b with employer match for eligible employees; discounts in the museum store and cafe; free general admission for you and your immediate family

Work Schedule:  15 weeks - spring semester; 20 hours per week, flexible Monday-Friday

Responsibilities:

1. Using the FOLIO Library Data Platform and OCLC Connexion Client and applying current best practices and standards, the Library Graduate Intern will create descriptions for scholarly and special collections materials across a range of formats, languages, and eras. The graduate intern will contribute complex copy cataloging, some original cataloging, and record enrichment for print and bound materials from collections including Winterthur Library’s rare book, manuscript, and circulating collections, and from the Memorial Library in Winterthur Museum.
2. As part of this work, the graduate intern will assist in identifying Library legacy metadata in need of review, enhancement, or remediation.
3. As support to other areas of practice in the Library, the graduate intern may participate in archival description, public programming, collection management, and other operational activities.

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:

1. Excellent communication, organization, time management, problem-solving, and research skills.
2. Experience with or strong interest in cataloging, particularly for rare materials and special collections.
3. Experience with or strong interest in librarianship in an academic, research, museum, or other special library setting.
4. 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.
5. 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).
6. Familiarity with principles of critical cataloging and reparative description, and with metadata-focused equity initiatives and resources.
7. Reading knowledge of one or more languages other than English, preferably French, Dutch, German, Italian, Latin, or Spanish.
8. Familiarity with data mapping, querying, and transformation, via tools such as MarcEdit and OpenRefine or programming languages such as Python and SQL.

Essential Functions:

1. Must be able to lift books or boxes weighing up to 15 pounds for reshelving and must be able to push full book carts.
2. Must be able to stoop or bend to reach books on lower shelves and must be able to reach books on upper shelves using library stools.
3. Must be able to tolerate temperatures of 60-65 degrees for short periods.

Thank you for considering Winterthur Museum job opportunities.

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