Graduate Student Internship Program in Primary Sources
The Columbia University Libraries’ Graduate Student Internship Program in Primary Sources is designed to enrich graduate studies and professional training in primary sources through an introduction to archival work, supplemented with an orientation program, networking opportunities, discussions, and tours.
A three-year pilot project of this program (2007-2010) was funded by the Mellon Foundation.
Applications for the Summer 2026 program are due by 5pm on January 28, 2026.
Work in the archives includes:
- Training in archival processing practices under the supervision of curators and archivists.
- Arranging, describing, and cataloguing collections in one’s area of research and interest.
- Creating finding aids, once a collection has been processed, for online publication.
- Learning to uncover primary source collections relevant to one’s research and to better understand the nature, origin and uses of primary sources.
Rounding out the experience:
- Behind-the-scenes tours of participating libraries and archives.
- Discussions with library staff on topics of oral history, digital archives, issues of conservation and preservation, new ways to research, and introductions to collections.
- Opportunities to meet your fellow interns and network with other interns working elsewhere in the Columbia University Libraries.
- Opportunities for discussions with the University Librarian and Associate University Librarians to ask questions regarding the Libraries’ organization, job hunting, career enhancement, and other topics of librarianship.
Applicants must be currently matriculated graduate or professional students at Columbia University who are continuing their studies for credit at Columbia University in the Fall Semester.
Prospective interns are advised that there are employment limitations for students holding multiple positions at Columbia University. Due to these limitations, students who also hold a teaching appointment or other student officer appointments over the summer may not be eligible for this program. Your department can advise on such limitations.
- Seven internships are available.
- The internship period is June 1 - September 4, 2026, for up to 275 hours.
- All work is completed in-person and onsite at one of the participating libraries.
- Work hours are Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm.
- Interns are expected to work 20-25 hours per week.
- The internship has some flexibility in scheduling; however, interns are expected to make a commitment to work at least ten weeks during the internship period.
- Interns will be paid $25.00 per hour, and can earn up to $6,875 over the course of the internship.
Students in the Graduate Student Internship Program in Primary Sources have processed hundreds of collections since the program’s inception in the Columbia University Libraries in 2007. In recent years some interns have chosen to write blog posts about their experiences, which can be seen at the links below:
Rare Book and Manuscript Library: There are several posts gathered together here.
The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary:
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Located in Avery Hall, the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library collects books and periodicals in archaeology, architecture, art history, city planning , decorative arts, design, historic preservation, landscape architecture, painting, photography, real estate development, and sculpture. The Library currently contains more than 625,000 volumes and receives approximately 1,300 periodicals.
Contact: avery@library.columbia.edu
The Burke Library is one of the largest theological libraries in North America, with holdings of over 700,000 items, including extensive special collections. The mission of the Burke Library is to identify, acquire, organize, provide access to, interpret, and preserve for the future information in the field of theology and contextually related areas of study.
Contact: burke@library.columbia.edu
Located in Butler Library, the Rare Book & Manuscript Library (RBML) is Columbia’s principal repository for rare and unique materials, with holdings that span four thousand years of recorded knowledge, from cuneiform tablets to early printed books and born-digital archives. While the subjects reflected in RBML’s collections are as broad as the teaching and research mission of Columbia University, the collecting program centers on the specific areas noted here. Each year RBML welcomes thousands of researchers and visitors to their reading room, exhibitions, programs, and classrooms.
Contact: rbml@library.columbia.edu
- Please submit application materials electronically via the online form. You will need to submit:
- Current CV
- A cover letter, which should include:
- Prior experience (if any) working with primary source materials
- The nature of your interest in the intership, including your interest in any specific collection
- How the internship might relate to your graduate study
- Please submit application material electronically via the online form here
- If you are a UTS student and do not have a Lionmail account, please email cul-gradinterns@columbia.edu for an application form.
Application materials are due no later than 5pm on Wednesday January 28, 2026.
Successful candidates will be notified by late February.
Intern supervisors may be reached at cul-gradinterns@columbia.edu for questions. Please do not contact this email address to provide application materials; use the form linked above.