Post Graduate Conservator; Temporary

Position: Post Graduate Conservator (Temporary)
Location: New York

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Join to apply for the Post Graduate Conservator (Temporary) role at The New York Public Library

Description

Deadline for application:
February 8, 2026

Final date to receive applications: 8 February 2026

Department: Conservation

Location: Library Services Center

Compensation: $50,000 - $53,000 / year

Description

Deadline for application:
February 8, 2026

Overview
The Conservation Division of the New York Public Library announces an opening starting September 2026 for a Post-Graduate Conservator in Paper and/or Photographic Materials, a two year, full time position with benefits and including generous support for professional development.

Paper-based special collections and photographic materials at NYPL are spread among multiple curatorial divisions located in the Library’s three Research Centers: the Humanities and Social Sciences Library in the Stephen

A. Schwarzman Building at Bryant Park, the Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem. These collections include manuscript and printed textual and graphic works on paper from all over the world, which extend back to the 9th century, and the full range of the history of photography, including negatives.

This position provides a newly graduated paper or photograph conservator – or a conservator focusing on both specialties – the opportunity to collaborate, learn, contribute to, and work in a vibrant and full conservation lab that supports the varied, unique, and immense collections of NYPL’s three research centers.

This position is located in the Library’s Conservation Division, the staff of which consists of a team of conservators and technicians specializing in bound, flat, and photographic materials. The Conservation Division supports the collections of the Research Centers and provides conservation assessment, treatment, housing, research, and training to advance the preservation of the collection and meet the conservation needs of the Library’s active reading rooms and acquisition, digitization, exhibition, and loan programs.

NYPL Conservation consists of two units, the Goldsmith Conservation Lab and Collections Care, both overseen by the Shelby White and Leon Levy Associate Director of Conservation and located at the Library Services Center in Long Island City, Queens. The Post-Graduate Conservator will report to either the Senior Paper Conservator or the Senior Photograph Conservator as determined to be appropriate; this does not limit opportunities to gain experience in the other area.

Conservation at NYPL is a unit of Preservation and Special Collections Processing, responsible for the processing and cataloging, management, and preservation of the Research Libraries collections.

The mission of The New York Public Library is to inspire lifelong learning, advance knowledge, and strengthen our communities, and we rely on three great resources—our staff, our collections, and our physical and digital spaces—to provide opportunities for learning and growth.

The Selecting Committee will begin reviewing applications on February 9, 2026.

We are looking for someone we can count on to:
Own:

• Their continued development as a conservator, both at the bench and as a professional in an educational work environment

Teach:

• And share their knowledge and experience with the entire conservation team – from high school students to senior conservators – with colleagues more broadly across the Library, and with a broader audience through active outreach

Learn:

• By enthusiastically collaborating with the entire conservation team from high school students to senior conservators and with colleagues more broadly across the Library

Improve:

• Our perspectives and their own with the goal to continually refine the way we do things and help advance the field

Some expectations for this role are that within:
1 month, this person will:

• Be a colleague in the Conservation Division who knows the rest of the team and is known by the rest of the team
• Be familiar with basic conservation workflow…