About the role#
The New York Public Library is hiring for a 17-week paid internship within the Digital Collections Operations department for the Spring 2027 term. This role provides exposure to the end-to-end digital collections lifecycle, covering everything from initial digitization and reformatting to metadata, rights clearance, and long-term digital preservation. You will rotate across core teams for 2 to 3 weeks at a time to learn how a major research library manages its digital assets.
What you'll do#
- Participate in project-cycle deep dives, including material handling, camera setups, and lighting concepts.
- Assist with the physical inspection and reformatting of audio, video, and film formats.
- Learn vendor digitization workflows and coordination.
- Perform forensic imaging and reformatting of born-digital media like floppy disks and optical drives.
- Assist with quality control and troubleshooting for legacy digital assets and preservation packages in Preservica.
- Reuse archival records to create item-level metadata and complete a metadata remediation mini-project.
- Research URIs and identify name variants across library systems.
- Monitor permissions intake and confirm physical item availability for digitization.
- Gain experience with administrative tools, including ClickUp for project tracking and Freshbooks for invoicing.
- Participate in rights reviews and research rights holders for digitized items.
- Observe repository operations, asset ingest workflows, and DAMS access permissions.
- Support operational documentation, process mapping, and system rollout logistics by gathering user feedback.
Location & details#
- This internship is based on-site at the Library Services Center in Queens, New York.
- The term runs for 17 weeks during the Spring 2027 semester.
- This is a full-time, paid position.
About The New York Public Library
The New York Public Library operates as a nonprofit organization providing free education and information. It maintains 92 locations across the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island. Founded in 1895, the institution serves over 18 million patrons annually. It offers resources such as books, computer access, and public programming for all ages.
How to get in at The New York Public Library
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