Archive Practicum Intern, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL

Posted December 2, 2016

Founded in 1901, The Ryerson and Burnham Libraries is the third largest art research library in the United States. The Archives’ mission is to collect artists’ and architects’ papers that complement and extend both the 400,000+ volumes of the Libraries’ collection as well as the permanent collections of the museum’s curatorial departments. The Archives’ collections are notably strong in late 19th- and 20th-century American architecture, with particular depth in Midwest architecture. Architects such as Edward Bennett, Daniel Burnham, Bruce Goff, Bertrand Goldberg, Ludwig Hilberseimer, Mies van der Rohe, Louis Sullivan, and Frank Lloyd Wright are represented in a broad range of papers. As well, the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago is documented through photographs by C.D. Arnold and through a small collection of ephemera. The Century of Progress International Exposition of 1933-1934 in Chicago and the World’s Fair of 1939 in New York are also each represented in an individual archive. The Historic Architecture and Landscape Image Collection (HALIC), a large collection of mounted photographic prints and lantern slides, provides valuable historic records of American architecture, landscape design, and urban planning. Other significant collections include the papers of artists, designers and scholars such as Ivan Albright, Irving Penn and George Collins.

A few of the many valuable experiences we may offer a graduate student with interest in Archives are:

• Survey, arrange, process, and provide preservation and intellectual access to large and small collections. Add accruals to existing collections; evaluate and reorganize existing collections to better facilitate access accordingly.
• Review and update existing finding aids and encode new finding aids in EAD.
• Assist in the establishment, organization, editing, and application of metadata for new and existing digital objects. Digitize collection items when appropriate and develop content for online exhibits, publications, and other uses as required.
• Assist patrons and researchers in navigating collections on-site and online; respond to email research inquiries.

It is our goal to create Library Practicum and Internship experiences that are tailored to meet the needs and the career goals of each individual student.

Qualifications

Library and Information Science students are preferred, but we also consider anyone who has had work or internship experience in archives, libraries, museums or who are students or graduates in associated fields such Museum Studies, Architectural History or Architectural Preservation.

Intern Information

Length of Program: Semester long internships

Compensation: Unpaid

College Credit: Available

Questions? Please call or email Nathaniel Parks, Assistant Archivist [email protected], 312.857.7676.

WE ARE ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR THE SPRING AND SUMMER 2017