The Horological Society of New York is a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to advancing the art and science of horology, the study of time. The Society’s Jost Bürgi Research Library contains over 25,000 items on all aspects of time, including clocks, watches, philosophy, and even time travel. The collection includes rare books, periodicals, and ephemera in more than 28 languages. The library is located on the fifth floor of the historic General Society Building in midtown Manhattan (20 West 44th Street).
We’re seeking an intern to help us continue our organization of the library, which was officially opened to the public and to researchers in 2022. Although most of the books have already been cataloged, we are still processing our other materials. As an intern at HSNY, you will be supervised by our librarians, Dr. Miranda Marraccini and St John Karp. The summer internship runs from June to August, and can be tailored to suit the intern’s interests. The focus of your work can be one of the following areas:
- Archives
- Cataloging
- Digitization
Don’t see your interest here? Ask us! Interns typically gain a wide range of experience in library and archival practice, including archival arrangement and description, writing a guest blog post, giving tours, researching reference requests, cataloging, and handling rare books.
Preferred qualifications:
- Interest in working in rare books and special collections, at an art library, at a special library, or with a museum collection.
- Familiarity with Library of Congress classification.
- Ability to physically engage with the collection, including climbing, lifting heavy items, and use of ladders/step stools. This can be adapted depending on your needs.
We encourage you to apply even if you feel you do not meet all of the qualifications for the role. This is an internship, so we expect you to learn on the job. To apply, please send a résumé and a cover letter to library@hs-ny.org describing why you would be a good fit for the job by April 15. This internship can be completed for course credit, or not for credit during the same time frame. If the internship is not for credit, the number of hours is flexible, but must be weekdays between 10am-5pm. Pay is $22/hr.
