Library Digitization Undergraduate Intern

Museum of Fine Arts•Boston, MA

1d•$0 - $17•Onsite

About The Position

The William Morris Hunt Memorial Library, the central research library of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, houses a collection of over 250,000 items. Its primary mission is to support museum staff research needs for acquisitions, provenance, exhibitions, and object records by managing and providing access to its collection. While serving museum staff, the Library also extends its services to the public, scholarly community, and art research colleagues. The Library is seeking an advanced undergraduate intern to digitize rare library materials, contributing to the Library's goal of creating more open, digital, and equitable access to its collection. This intern will report to the Library Associate, Resource Sharing and Information Discovery. The primary project involves identifying, processing, scanning, and uploading rare and unique ephemera related to BIPOC and underrepresented artists and art mediums. Secondary projects include exploring enhanced access through digitizing institutional publications and creating signage for physical collections. The internship offers experience in the full lifecycle of a digitization project, from theme creation and material identification to metadata management and scanning. It also provides opportunities to engage with broader art and museum library practices and critical thinking about digital projects within the art library and digital communities.

Requirements

Enrolled in an undergraduate program, concurrent with internship period, as a junior or senior.
Demonstrated interest in pursuing museum, library, or digital humanities career.
Strong curiosity in promoting underrepresented artists.
Excellent organizational skills, attention to detail, and analytic thinking.
Strong communication skills while working in a collaborative team and independently.
Proven ability to follow standardized practices in the field; familiarity with basic library resource organization is preferred.
Physical abilities to handle heavy loads of books such as lifting up to 20 lbs. and pushing/pulling full carts. This also includes the ability to reach, bend, and climb on ladders.
Ability to work onsite 15 hours per week, with shifts of a minimum of 4 hours, between 8:30am-4pm Monday-Thursday September 11, through December 11, and attend the undergraduate Museum Pathways & Practices professional development course from 12:30-2:30pm on the following Fridays: Sept 18, Sept 25, Oct 2, Oct 9, Oct 16, Oct 23, Oct 30, Nov 6, Nov 13, Nov 20, and Dec 4.
Ability to attend orientation on Fri, Jan 23, 2026, 10am to 3:30pm.

Responsibilities

Work with the Library Associate to complete a digitization project from identification of materials to uploading scans to ensure substantial experience in the lifecycle of a digital project.
Research and identify a cohort of pre-1930 materials connected to BIPOC and underrepresented artists and art mediums using the guidelines of the overarching digital project.
Utilize a variety of platforms and software to follow complete each step of the digital project in accordance with standard library policies including an integrated library system (FOLIO) and scanning equipment (Bookeye & Opus FreeFlow).
Survey materials for issues related to their physical condition to determine preservation needs before scanning; learn about common preservation issues that occur while scanning.
Prepare and offer a 3–5-minute final synoptic presentation of the internship as part of the Museum Pathways & Practices professional development course.
Maintain digitization project documentation and instructions.
Participate in expanding access to the collections through updating signage and making institutional publications available.
Assist in regular circulation tasks alongside staff members including monitoring book return locations and checking books in.