The Morgan Library & Museum Academic Year Internships
The Morgan Library & Museum welcomes applications for its 2024–2025 academic year internship program. The program will provide an introduction to the variety of career opportunities available in museums and special collection libraries. Each intern will be assigned to a department relevant to their interest and work with departmental staff on timely topics in that area. Interns will 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.
These are on-site, paid internships for schedules of up to fourteen hours per week. Please see detailed application instructions below. The Morgan especially seeks to provide opportunities to candidates from backgrounds historically underrepresented in the museum and special collection libraries fields.
For the academic year 2024–2025, internships are available in the following areas:
Ancient Western Asian Seals & Tablets Internship
This internship within the curatorial department of Ancient Western
Asian Seals and Tablets provides an immersive and practical experience
tailored for students aspiring to pursue careers in art, art history,
archaeology, libraries, or museums. Working closely with the department
head, the intern will actively contribute to two ongoing departmental
projects: organizing and preparing a collection of modern seal
impressions for archival purposes and organizing digital and physical
images of seals and impressions for a publication. The intern will
handle archaeological objects and work with archival materials,
including photographs. They will have the unique opportunity to receive
specialized training in ancient seal carving and the art of creating
seal impressions.
Communications and Marketing Internship
The Communications and Marketing Department is interested in hosting an
intern to work in collaboration with the department to implement a
communications campaign around the opening of our major exhibitions Belle da Costa Greene: A Librarian's Legacy, Franz Kafka and Book of Marvels.
The intern will also assist with social media content creation, provide
support for the Morgan’s 2025 exhibition campaign, help with operating
the College Ambassadors program, and research projects as needed.
Graham S. Haber Cultural Heritage Collections Photography Internship
This internship will provide an introduction to the Morgan’s digital
imaging studio and training with professional digital imaging equipment
and software. 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.
Imaging and Rights Internship
This internship offers a unique opportunity to gain experience in
Imaging and Rights. The successful candidate will assist with Morgan
publications and exhibitions, organizing images and spreadsheets,
assisting with color proofing and maintaining image and copyright
credits. The intern will also update metadata in image files such as
Morgan Digital Assets (MDA) and continue with ingesting digitized music
images into MDA. This requires accessing databases, embedding metadata
into image files, and after MDA ingest, reviewing, revising and
correcting data when necessary.
Literary and Historical Manuscripts Internship
This intern will provide research support for two upcoming 2027
exhibitions, on Oscar Wilde and James Ivory. The intern will also be
involved in the installation of the Belle de Costa Greene show and
provide research support involving compiling research materials,
creating an annotated bibliography, building preliminary checklists in
Google Sheets, and viewing collection objects with curators at the
Morgan and perhaps at NYPL.
Modern & Contemporary Drawings Internship
The Department of Modern and Contemporary Drawings at The Morgan Library
& Museum seeks an intern to work directly with and be mentored by
the curatorial team. The intern’s responsibilities will include
identifying collection items that need imaging, adding images to artist
files, ongoing collection research in libraries and archives, writing
short descriptions and wall labels, as well as conducting future
exhibition research. The candidate should have knowledge of and interest
in modern and contemporary art and be available two days per week.
Printed Books and Bindings Internship
The Printed Books and Bindings internship will focus on the material
culture of European Renaissance libraries, including the function of
libraries as a location of visual display and the role of bookbinding in
the larger field of Renaissance art history. The intern will help
research a significant collection of recently acquired Renaissance books
towards the creation of an object list and bibliography for a possible
exhibition on this topic. Working with the associate curator, the intern
will gain hands-on experience with Renaissance books, the handling of
rare materials, and other aspects of a curatorial position in rare
books.
Public Programs Internship
This internship in Public Programs offers an opportunity to assist in
the planning and production of the Morgan’s exhibition and
collections-based programs, including concerts and other live arts, film
screenings, lectures, symposia, and other public programs. The
candidate should demonstrate a keen interest in the history, literature,
and visual and performing arts. The intern will assist in the
production of programs related to the exhibitions Belle da Costa Greene:
A Librarian’s Legacy and Franz Kafka as well as research programs for
2026–2027. The candidate will assist with light board operation and
audio/visual support, and will liaise with presenters and the public
during rehearsals, set-up, and program implementation. Additionally, the
candidate will provide administrative support including attendance
tracking, data collection and reporting, and budgeting. The schedule
will include weekday and evening hours (approximately one or two
evenings per week), with occasional weekend hours.
School, Youth & Family Programs Education 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. Some weekend and evening hours
will apply.
$18 per hour.
Academic year internships are onsite at the Morgan, with interns generally working up to fourteen hours per week, beginning in mid-September and running through early to mid-May.
Interns will be selected on a competitive basis via an application process. The deadline to apply for an internship is August 1, 2024.
To apply, submit the following materials, in English, via email as a single PDF to the following address: internships@themorgan.org (In the subject line please include the following format: First and Last Name – Internship you are applying to)
- A cover letter containing the following information:
- The internship of interest to you. Specify ONE from the following:
- Ancient Western Asian Seals & Tablets Internship
- Communications and Marketing Internship
- Graham S. Haber Cultural Heritage Collections Photography Internship
- Imaging and Rights Internship
- Literary and Historical Manuscripts Internship
- Modern & Contemporary Drawings Internship
- Public Programs Internship
- Printed Books and Bindings Internship
- School, Youth & Family Education Internship
- A statement regarding your interest in the museum or library field, and your future aspirations.
- A statement about why diversity and inclusion are important to you within the museum or library field, and how this opportunity will assist your career goals?
- The internship of interest to you. Specify ONE from the following:
- Any other information that you would like to provide regarding your candidacy for a Morgan academic year internship.
- Your resume
- Please indicate the days of the week you would be available to be on-site at the Morgan as an intern and to participate in the professional development programs.
- The names and contact information of two references (please include the person’s name, title, organization, telephone number, and email address)
Please note that applications received without all requested information, including a cover letter, will not be considered. No phone calls, please.
About the Morgan Library & Museum
A museum and independent research library located in the heart of New
York City, the Morgan Library & Museum began as the personal library
of financier, collector, and cultural benefactor Pierpont Morgan. The
Morgan offers visitors close encounters with great works of human
accomplishment in a setting treasured for its intimate scale and
historical 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.
Support for the Morgan Library & Museum academic year Internship Program is provided by the Themis Brown Endowment Fund and the Graham S. Haber Cultural Heritage Collections Photography Internship Fund.
The Morgan Library & Museum receives many applications and inquiries for employment. Unfortunately, we are not able to respond to all of them. Due to the high volume of applicants, we can contact only those candidates whose skills and background best fit our needs.
Important to note:
Vaccination Requirement
To ensure the overall health and safety of the Morgan Library &
Museum campus, all staff of the Morgan are required to be fully
vaccinated and have received booster vaccines against the virus that
causes COVID-19, absent qualifying exemptions for medical, religious, or
other reasons in accordance with applicable laws.
EEO Statement
The Morgan is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to
complying with all federal, state, and local equal employment
opportunity laws. The Morgan provides equal employment opportunities to
all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race,
color, creed, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender
identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, marital
status, military or veteran status, domestic violence victim status or
any other basis prohibited by applicable federal, state, and/or local
laws.
The statements herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees and are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. Furthermore, they do not establish a contract for employment and are subject to change at the discretion of the employer.
Source: https://www.themorgan.org/opportunities/internships
