McMullan Arts Leadership Intern, Research Center - Libraries

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.

Position Summary

The Art Institute of Chicago’s Research Center is excited to offer a McMullan Arts Leadership intern position to work with their library team.

A hub for scholarship and training, the Art Institute Research Center brings together the museum’s Ryerson and Burnham Library, the Art Institute of Chicago Archives, and the department of Academic Engagement and Research to care for, modernize, and share the Art Institute of Chicago’s broad array of research resources.

The historic Ryerson and Burnham Library is one of the nation’s preeminent art research libraries. The collection holds more than 670,000 print titles, 100,000 auction catalogs, 200 current serial subscriptions, and extensive digital resources. The Library resources the museum’s eleven curatorial departments, supporting myriad research fields spanning the globe and all time periods. In addition to upholding the museum’s core activities, the Library makes its collections accessible to the scholarly community, faculty and students, artists and architects, and inquisitive public visitors from around the world.

The intern will research various primary sources to document the sources of items in our library collection. Being able to attribute rare books to specific donors and being able to list items donated by significant donors will be of great value to our Provenance, Philanthropy, and Curatorial Departments.

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 libraries. 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).

McMullan Arts Leadership Internship Program Goals

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.

This program specifically aims to support students who encounter economic challenges when considering a career in the arts. Aligned with this goal, we aim to help 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:

• Discover information access points, such as written and published documentation, as well as investigating physical clues of a book such as margin notes, labels, and book plates;
• Learn about and handle rare books, including artists’ books;
• Navigate an integrated library system (Alma/Primo), including editing catalog records;
• Understand how a library functions within a museum setting;
• Develop mentor relationships with field practitioners;
• Build peer-to-peer relationships with fellow interns.

Responsibilities

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

• Compile data from a variety of in-house sources to create a spreadsheet documenting key data points about the sources of our library books;
• Add the relevant information into our library database, using a provided structured vocabulary;
• Collaborate with the Library Director and the Associate Director of Access Services to focus the project on the most necessary information;
• Prepare and deliver a presentation to the Research Center staff, summarizing their work and how it was beneficial to their studies;
• Participate in regular meetings with members of the department and the mentors of this position: director of the Ryerson & Burnham Libraries as well as the associate director of access services;
• Attend intern cohort professional development programs and museum practice seminars.

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;
• Meticulously detail-oriented;
• Agility in data entry and willingness to work with library databases and spreadsheets;
• Ability to push carts of books, handle books, bend, and occasionally lift 20 pounds.

Compensation & Benefits

Hiring Range: $17.50/hour (Maximum 14 hours per week, for a total of up to 448 hours over the course of the internship.)

This position is not benefits eligible.

• Job Classification: Hourly
• Employment Category: Intern

Schedule: This is a part-time, 32-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 448 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 be 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; technological accommodations will be provided by the Art Institute of Chicago based on necessity.

Application Instructions

You must upload all of the requested materials below (resume and essay responses) into only one pdf document and list your last name and “AY 26-27” in the title of the file (example: [LAST NAME]_AY 26-27.pdf.) Please upload your materials where asked in the online application.

PLEASE NOTE: You will not 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:

• Resume
• Short Essays: Instead of a cover letter, please respond to the following questions in short essays (no more than 300 words per essay.) We encourage you to provide specific examples to support your answers or to illustrate your ideas:
• What about this job description interests you the most?
• With the mission of the McMullan Arts Leadership intern program in mind, what perspectives might you bring to this role that you think museums need more of?
• How do you envision this opportunity helping you towards your professional goals? 

DEADLINE: The deadline to submit an application to this position is Monday, July 27 at 11:59 pm CDT. We will not accept late applications.

Selected applicants will be invited to participate in a video interview approximately two weeks after the application deadline.

Accessibility

If you are a job seeker with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to apply for one of our jobs, you will find the contact information to request the appropriate accommodation by visiting the following page:

Accessibility Accommodation for Applicants

Equal Opportunity Statement

The Art Institute of Chicago is an Equal Opportunity Employer that recruits, hires and promotes qualified individuals compliant with federal and state laws. 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.