Shelby White & Leon Levy Fellowship in Manuscript Cataloging

The Morgan Library & Museum • New York, NY

12d

About The Position

The Morgan Library & Museum invites applications for the Shelby White & Leon Levy Fellowship in Manuscript Cataloging. The Fellowship is intended for new professionals who have demonstrated engagement with general cataloging or archival processing and wish to enhance their skills through intensive specialized training. This is a unique opportunity for early-career professionals to receive training and mentoring as members of the Morgan Library & Museum curatorial and cataloging staff.

Starting in February 2026, the Fellowship will consist of 400 hours, and applicants will work part-time (21 hours per week) in order to complete the 400 hours. Fellows will be assigned to work on specific groups of 19th- or 20th-century correspondence. They will be expected to research the historical and cultural context in which the letters and documents were produced, create collection and item level records in CORSAIR—the Morgan's collections database—according to DCRM(MSS), assign accession numbers, and attend to the rehousing and conservation needs of the material. Considerations will be given to applicants’ areas of experience or expertise, such as specific language skills or subject specialization in art, literature, history, film, history of science, etc.

This opportunity is the eighth and last in a series of Manuscript Cataloging Fellowships that are offered by the Morgan every September and February from September 2022 to February 2026. The Morgan Library & Museum is grateful to the Leon Levy Foundation for their generous support of these special opportunities.

The position reports to the Director of Collection Information, and works closely with curators in the Department of Literary and Historical Manuscripts.

Requirements

• Master's Degree in Library and Information Science from an ALA-accredited institution or substantial course work towards the degree; a degree (or substantial course work toward one) in related areas, such as art, literature, music, history, film, or history of science, with specialization in working with original historical documents, will also be considered
• Experience with reading handwritten documents preferred
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English
• Knowledge of additional European languages preferred
• Knowledge of standard library cataloging tools, such as MARC21, RDA, DCRM, LCSH, and other standard vocabularies preferred
• Familiarity with an integrated library system and with the OCLC Connexion client preferred
• Experience with archival processing preferred
• Understanding of and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusiveness in interactions with coworkers and contacts and a commitment to reflecting those principles in descriptive work
• Ability to work for extended periods at a computer workstation and lift moderately heavy boxes (10 lbs.)
• Work hours must fall within the hours of 9 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays

Nice To Haves

• Experience with reading handwritten documents
• Knowledge of additional European languages
• Knowledge of standard library cataloging tools, such as MARC21, RDA, DCRM, LCSH, and other standard vocabularies
• Familiarity with an integrated library system and with the OCLC Connexion client
• Experience with archival processing

Responsibilities

• Research the historical and cultural context in which the letters and documents were produced
• Create collection and item level records in CORSAIR—the Morgan's collections database—according to DCRM(MSS)
• Assign accession numbers
• Attend to the rehousing and conservation needs of the material

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Part-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Number of Employees: 251-500 employees