McMullan Arts Leadership Internship — Research Center, Metadata (Summer 2025)

McMullan Arts Leadership Internship — Research Center, Metadata (Summer 2025)

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, centering the vision of artists and makers. We recognize that all art is made in a particular context, demanding continual, dynamic reconsideration in the present. We are a place of gathering; we foster the exchange of ideas and inspire an expansive, inclusive understanding of human creativity.

• Expected Range: $16.73 per hour
• Job Classification: Intern
• Grade Level: Not Applicable

This role is not eligible for benefits or PTO. 

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Art Institute of Chicago’s Research Center is excited to offer a McMullan Arts Leadership intern position to work with the Ryerson and Burnham Libraries team on metadata.

The Ryerson and Burnham Libraries  (RBL) are 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.

The intern will research and contribute to metadata enhancement efforts, gaining experience with controlled vocabularies and bibliographic description in our LMS, Alma. They will follow local policies and contribute to documentation, 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 involved in collaborating with the Systems Librarian to ensure that the bibliographic metadata we are entering becomes practical on the discovery side of our LMS.

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.

Goals of the McMullan Arts Leadership Internship Program

The McMullan Arts Leadership internship program is part of a museum-wide effort to provide students the opportunity to gain experience, career awareness, networks, and skills that will position them to thrive as future art museum leaders.

The primary objective of this internship is to support students who will encounter economic challenges if considering a career in the arts. Aligned with this goal, we aim to shape a diverse group of leaders whose actions are informed by a wide range of perspectives, varying career paths, and values inspired by their own lived experiences.

INTERNSHIP OUTCOMES:

In this position, the intern will have the opportunity to:

• Gain familiarity with vocabularies and best practices related to the area of focus;
• Understanding of the format and purpose of local authorities;
• Learn library management and discovery systems (Alma/Primo);
• Gain collection handling experience across a variety of item types;
•  Create LibGuide(s) content for effective information sharing;
• Develop strong communication and organizational skills;
• Develop mentor relationships with field practitioners;
• Build peer-to-peer relationships with fellow interns.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

With guidance from the position’s mentors, the intern will be responsible for:

• Researching and familiarizing themselves with metadata enhancement projects, vocabularies, and best practices related to the area of focus;
• Updating existing metadata using guidelines found in description policy and vocabularies;
• Creating staff-facing LibGuide to document the description policy and procedure to cross-train other catalogers;
• Creating public-facing documentation of the changes to aid researchers in using new terminology;
• Participating in regular meetings with members of the department and the mentor of this position:  Associate Director of Collection Services and Associate Director of Digital Research Systems & Strategies;
• Attending intern cohort professional development programs and museum practice seminars.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Undergraduate or graduate student; recent graduates (within one year of graduation upon applying) will also be considered
• Applicants must be based or attending school in the Chicagoland area and eligible to work in the US during the summer internship term
• Interest in or current enrollment in 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

APPLICATION:

You must upload all of the requested materials below (résumé and essay responses) into only pdf document and list your last name and “Summer 2025” in the title of the file (example: [LAST NAME]_SUMMER2025.pdf.) Please upload your materials where asked in the online application.

PLEASE NOTE: You will be considered if any requested application element is missing.

To apply for this internship, tell us your story. We want to understand who you are, what motivates you, how you think, and where you’re coming from. Please submit the following materials:

• Résumé
• Instead of a traditional cover letter, please respond to the following questions in short essays (no more than 300 words per answer.) We encourage you to provide specific examples to support your answers or to illustrate your ideas: 
  • What about this opportunity interests you the most?
  • With the goals of the McMullan Arts Leadership intern program in mind, what unique values, experiences, or perspectives would you bring to this role?
  • How do you envision this opportunity helping you towards your professional goals?

DEADLINE:

This application will close on Friday, March 7th at 11:59 pm CDT. Selected applicants will be asked to interview via video call approximately two weeks after deadline passes.

INTERNSHIP INFORMATION:

Duration of Position: 10 weeks / June 2025 (start date anytime during the week of June 2–6) through August 2025 (end date anytime during the week of August 4–8)

Compensation: Paid – $16.73/hr – 14 hrs/week – Temporary

Schedule: This is a part-time, 10-week position for a currently enrolled or recently graduated undergraduate or graduate student. The intern will work 14 hours per week, for a total of up to 140 hours over the course of the internship. Work days will occur between Monday–Friday; the start date and schedule will be determined upon agreement with the candidate and the host department.

Hourlong virtual and in-person intern professional development programs will be scheduled throughout the internship term that the student is strongly encouraged to attend. These programs will occur during the week; we ask that the intern make this part of their internship schedule.

Format: The internship will occur fully onsite. 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, but technological accommodations will be provided by the Art Institute of Chicago.

Number of openings: 1

The Art Institute of Chicago is an Equal Opportunity Employer that recruits, hires and promotes qualified individuals without regard to race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, ancestry, veteran status or citizenship. The Institute complies with federal and state disability laws and makes reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact the Department of Human Resources at apply_help@artic.edu.