The Posner Curatorial Internship supports Carnegie Mellon University graduate students in gaining practical and paid training in rare books and special collections librarianship. The Internship is intended for students who plan to pursue a career in cultural heritage institutions, including work in libraries, archives, and museums.
Posner Interns work on a range of projects, including improving and creating catalog records for rare materials; working with visiting and CMU researchers; shelf-scanning and collection inventory; researching acquisitions in existing areas of collections focus; and exhibition planning, installation, and design. In collaboration with the curator of special collections, Posner Interns have the opportunity to design a roster of projects and tasks to be completed during the internship.
The Posner Curatorial Internship pays a $4500 stipend at $20/hour and requires an on-site commitment of 10-15 hours per week. The Libraries is currently not accepting applications for the Posner Curatorial Internship. The next application cycle will be announced in Spring 2025. Please send questions about the Posner Curatorial Internship or the application process to Sam Lemley, Curator of Special Collections (samlemley@cmu.edu).
About The Posner Fine Arts Foundation & Henry Posner Senior
The Posner Curatorial Internship is generously funded by the Posner Fine Arts Foundation. Reflecting the Foundation’s ongoing support, the internship will involve work with the Posner Memorial Collection, an important collection of rare books and manuscripts that illustrates the history of western science, technology, and literature from the fifteenth century to the present. Both the Posner Memorial Collection and the Posner Curatorial Internship are named in honor of Pittsburgh entrepreneur and philanthropist Henry Posner, Sr., who formed the Posner Memorial Collection.
Posner Intern Exhibitions
Before 2018 the Posner Internship invited CMU students to conduct research with the Posner Memorial Collection. Each internship culminated in an exhibition installed in the Posner Center that illustrated the intern’s project. Archived here are short descriptions of past exhibitions curated by interns from 2004 until 2018, when the internship program was revised to entail a broader scope of work in Special Collections.
Past Posner Interns
2024
- Kari Thomas
2022
- Jamie Leach
2018
- Steven Gotzler
- Jack Quirk
- Avery J. Wiscomb
- Zhouna Ma
2017
- Juliann Reineke
- Pierce Williams
2016
- Daniel Pillis
2015
- Matthew Lambert
- Jesse Boardman Kauppila
2014
- Nicole Anderson
2013
- David Haeselin
- Julie Bowman
2012
- Marisa Colabuono
- Sheila Liming
2011
- Prisca Ohito
- Hannah Gilchrist
2010
- Kate Holterhoff
- Vanessa L. Koch
2009
- Mirae Kim
2008
- Jessica Dickinson Goodman
- Julianne Mentzer
2007
- Christine Beaty
- Deanna M. Mulye
2006
- Benjamin C. Jantzen
2005
- Rachel Gougian
- Mary Grace Duncan
2004
- Eric J. Goldman