Exploring Internship Opportunities at the Morgan Library & Museum

The Morgan Library & Museum, situated in New York City, offers a range of internship programs designed to introduce students and aspiring professionals to the diverse career paths available within museums and special collection libraries. These internships provide hands-on experience, mentorship, and exposure to the Morgan's vast collections and operations. The Morgan Library & Museum is committed to complying with all federal, state, and local equal employment opportunity laws.

Overview of the Internship Program

The Morgan Library & Museum internship program is designed to provide participants with a comprehensive introduction to the museum and special collections library field. Each intern is assigned to a specific department based on their interests and works closely with departmental staff on current projects. These are on-site, paid internships with schedules typically up to 14 hours per week. The Morgan Library & Museum particularly encourages applications from candidates from backgrounds historically underrepresented in the museum and special collection libraries fields.

Interns also have the opportunity to learn about the Morgan, and the museum and special collection fields more generally, through professional development opportunities such as facility tours and meetings with museum leadership.

Internship Opportunities

The Morgan Library & Museum offers internships across various departments, catering to a wide range of interests and skill sets. Here's a detailed look at some of the available internships:

Curatorial Internships

Several curatorial internships are available, offering experience in different areas of the Morgan's collection:

Ancient Western Asian Seals and Tablets: This internship provides an immersive experience for students interested in art, art history, archaeology, libraries, or museums. The intern will work with the department head on projects such as organizing modern seal impressions for archival purposes and managing digital and physical images of seals. The intern will handle archaeological objects and work with archival materials connected to Edith Porada, including photographs.
Drawings and Prints: The Drawings and Prints department offers internships focused on various aspects of their collection. One such internship involves assisting with the sorting and cataloguing of the Janos Scholz archive, which includes a wealth of information about his collection of Italian drawings. The intern would work under the supervision of John Marciari, Director of Curatorial Affairs and Head of the Department of Drawings and Prints, and during residency at the Morgan would be exposed to all the activities of the curatorial department. Candidates should have an interest in archives and/or Italian art. Another internship within this department focuses on enhancing the online presentation of 19th-century French art. The intern will assist with research and writing interpretive texts and ensuring accurate presentation of drawings in the Morgan's online public access catalogue.
Modern and Contemporary Drawings: This internship offers the opportunity to work directly with the curatorial team. Responsibilities include collection research, identifying items for imaging, updating artist files, writing descriptions and wall labels, and conducting exhibition research.
Printed Books & Bindings: The Printed Books & Bindings department seeks an intern to work directly with the Astor Curator as a curatorial project assistant. Working on an upcoming exhibition dealing with the history of ragtime music and Black cultural production in the Jim Crow era, the internship will entail assisting with a wide range of project work involved with the curatorial process. This work includes but is not limited to research activities, catalogue preparation, liaising with outside stakeholders, strategizing approaches to cultural sensitivity, and organizing and updating electronic records in The Museum System (TMS). If the candidate is not familiar with TMS or other such systems, this internship offers the opportunity to learn museum collection and asset management software in a professional setting.
Photography: The Department of Photography seeks a summer intern to work with the assistant curator of photography in organizing a collection of materials related to the origins and growth of the art market for photography. The project entails sequencing, filing, cataloguing, and, as required, researching a gift of printed matter that reflects the historical evolution of dedicated institutions (auctions, galleries, museum departments, other specialized institutions) around photography from the 1970s to the recent past.

Imaging and Rights Internship

This internship provides a unique opportunity to gain experience in Imaging and Rights. The department provides access to the Morgan’s rare collections via digital surrogates and clears rights and permissions for various uses. The successful candidate will assist with an inventory of analogue image assets and paper files, in addition to assisting with Morgan publications and exhibition related projects, organizing images and tracking spreadsheets, assisting with color proofing and maintaining image and copyright credits. The intern will also update descriptive metadata in image files and will ingest these prepared image files into the Morgan digital asset management system (DAM).

Communications and Marketing Internship

The Communications and Marketing Department is seeking a creative and motivated intern to support social media and marketing initiatives. This role is perfect for someone eager to build their skills in real-world marketing, content creation, and online engagement. The intern may also work with the Morgan’s staff Outreach Committee and the Director of Communications and Marketing to issue weekly audience experience surveys and reports on the findings, assist with seasonal updates to the contacts database, provide support for the Morgan’s Centennial campaign, and help with operating the College Ambassadors program.

Public Programs Internship

This internship offers an opportunity to assist in the production of the Morgan’s exhibition and collections-based programs, including concerts and other live arts, film screenings, lectures, symposia, workshops, and other public programs. The candidate should demonstrate a keen interest in the history, literature, and visual and performing arts. The intern will assist with house and stage management in our 264-seat theater, light board operation, live sound, and recording, and will liaise with the public during rehearsals, set-up, and program implementation. Additionally, the candidate will provide administrative support including creating signage, printed concert programs, and data collection. Public Programs interns may also participate in the Morgan’s exhibition and collections-based programs for adults and college students, including lectures, concerts, film screenings, workshops, virtual programs and gallery talks. The intern will assist in researching and implementing programs, specifically the development of virtual programs and college tours. The candidate will support all programs during their internship, and will provide administrative support including attendance tracking, data collection and reporting, and survey collection and analysis. Saturdays and some evening hours may be required. Physical requirements include being mobile in public spaces for several hours at a time, and lifting, bending, reaching top shelves, and pushing carts. Proficiency in Microsoft Office required.

School, Youth & Family Programs Internship

The School, Youth & Family Program intern participates in the Morgan’s school, family, and teen programs, including the Morgan Book Project and exhibition programming. The candidate should demonstrate a keen interest in the field of museum education and in the visual arts, attention to detail, and solid writing and communication skills. The intern will assist in the weekly implementation of school programs, including set-up and clean-up of classes, the maintenance of program supplies, and administrative support. The candidate will observe the Morgan’s school programming and be trained to teach school tours, including onsite and offsite events. The candidate will additionally participate in family and teen workshops. The intern may also support all school and youth programs including researching and implementing programs, helping with set-up and clean-up of workshops, maintenance of program supplies, and administrative support including attendance tracking, data collection and reporting, and survey collection and analysis. Some weekend and evening hours may be required, including Saturday, June 14, Saturday, July 5, and Saturday, August 2. Physical requirements include being mobile in public spaces for several hours at a time, and lifting, bending, reaching top shelves, and pushing carts. Proficiency in Microsoft Office required.

Reference Collection Academic Year Internship

The Reference Collection Academic Year Internship will provide an introduction to the behind-the-scenes operations of a special research library. Under the guidance of the Head of the Reference Collection, the intern will participate in the daily workflow of the department, which will include the shelving and labelling of library materials, shifting library books and maintaining order in the collection, and a special project involving the collection.

Sherman Fairchild Reading Room Internship

The Sherman Fairchild Reading Room is looking for a Library or Archival Science undergraduate/graduate student who is interested in working in a special collections, research library, or museum library environment. The main responsibilities include: sorting, paging, and reshelving of reference books and other secondary source materials, including microfilms and internal files; inputting and updating reader records and files in Voyager and Microsoft Access database (or related); photocopying and scanning of reference books and archival documents, and working on other Library projects and miscellaneous office tasks as assigned.

Graham S. Haber Internship

This internship will provide an introduction to the Morgan’s digital imaging studio and training with professional digital imaging equipment. The intern will learn to create archival quality digital images of rare materials in the Morgan’s collection, which spans from Ancient Western Asian seals and tablets to contemporary drawings and photography, while also learning the crucial role of digital imaging in museums and special collections, cultural heritage imaging standards, and the many uses of a wide variety of images produced.

Exhibition and Collection Management Internship

The Exhibition and Collections Management department is interested in hosting an intern to assist with the processing of paperwork for acquisitions and objects on temporary deposit, help with the inventory of collection objects, and also aid with label production, documentation and data entry. The intern will also assist with filing and archiving loan and acquisition related paperwork, TMS work (data clean up, generation of loan records, and paperwork), the trafficking and organization of exhibition graphics, and more!

Thaw Conservation Center Internship

The focus of this internship will be the creation of preservation enclosures for fragile collection materials, while also providing an introduction to the goals and activities of the Thaw Conservation Center (TCC). Under the guidance of the book and paper conservators in the TCC, the intern will learn to identify and describe the vulnerabilities of books and archival materials, and transfer them to safe archival housings where appropriate. Depending on which days they work, the intern will also participate in the weekly routines of the department, assisting in activities such as gallery walk-throughs and environmental monitoring; there will be opportunities to shadow conservators, fellows, and preparators working on treatment and exhibition preparation.

Eligibility and Application Process

To be eligible for an internship at the Morgan Library & Museum, candidates must meet the following criteria:

Read also: Cracking the JP Morgan Internship

Current enrollment as an undergraduate or graduate student.
A strong interest in a career in the museum or library field.
Eligibility to work in the United States (international candidates must be eligible to participate in a paid internship program in the United States).
Strong verbal and written communication skills.

The application process is competitive and requires the submission of specific materials. A cover letter containing the following information is required: Which internship are you applying for? Specify ONE from the available options. Applications received without all requested information, including a cover letter, will not be considered.

The Morgan requires all employees, including interns, to have been vaccinated and received booster shots against the COVID-19 virus.

Compensation

Interns at the Morgan Library & Museum receive compensation for their work. The hourly rate is \$18 per hour. Academic year internships are onsite at the Morgan, with interns generally working up to 14 hours per week, beginning in mid-September and running through early to mid-May.

About the Morgan Library & Museum

The Morgan Library & Museum began as the personal library of financier, collector, and cultural benefactor J. Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913). It is a museum and independent research library located in New York City. The Morgan offers the public close encounters with great works of human accomplishment in a setting treasured for its intimate scale and historic significance. Its collection of manuscripts, rare books, music, drawings, and works of art comprise a unique and dynamic record of civilization, as well as an incomparable repository of ideas and of the creative process from 4000 BC to the present.

Additional Opportunities at the Morgan

Besides internships, the Morgan Library & Museum provides various avenues for engagement, including:

Free Admission for College Students: College students can gain free admission to the Morgan Library & Museum on the first Sunday of each month.
Free Public Programs: Many of the Morgan’s public programs, including lectures and film screenings, are FREE for students.
Fellowship and Internship Opportunities: Paid fellowship and internship opportunities are available for graduate and undergraduate students.
College Ambassador Program: The College Ambassador Program is designed for graduate and undergraduate students.
Online Collection Access: The collection of the Morgan Library & Museum spans from ancient to modern, representing a variety of artistic media and book arts. You can visit our collection online, and access high quality images that you can download, rotate, and zoom.
Reading Room Access: Request a visit to the Reading Room to research with the Morgan's rare materials.

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