McMullan Arts Leadership Internship, Research Center - Metadata

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 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).

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:

• 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;
• 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:

• Research and familiarize themselves with metadata enhancement projects, vocabularies, and best practices related to the area of focus;
• Research Special collection items to provide contextual information in bib records;
• Update existing metadata as directed. Document their work and share statistics regularly;
• Update staff-facing and public-facing documentation to reflect any changes made to the vocabulary during their internship;
• Participate in regular meetings with members of the department and the mentors of this position: Metadata Librarian and Associate Library Director of Collection 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;
• 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.

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 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.

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 asked to interview via video call approximately two weeks after deadline passes.

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.