I studied History as an undergraduate at Goldsmiths University of London, during this time I undertook an internship at St Paul’s Cathedral in the Collections Department gaining an introduction into Collections Management and Archiving. After my first internship I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in the heritage sector once I graduated. After university I worked on a digitisation project at the Royal Airforce Museum in London. This gave me an insight into record management and the importance of digital media and the issues surrounding preservation and access for both traditional mediums and born digital material.

The traineeship is great and I enjoy all aspects of the work I am involved in. My days are well structured but varied. I am currently working on a number of projects including the Conservative Party Archives, Roy Strong’s personal papers and legal deposit web archiving work. Some days I work on enquires, these come from all over the world and are expanding my knowledge of the archives and collections held by the Bodleian. Learning new software and programmes is also an essential part of the role that I enjoy and I am looking forward to using more applications as the traineeship progresses.

Working full time and completing a postgraduate course in Digital curation can be challenging but the study school and support from colleagues and my fellow trainees makes this aspect fun and enjoyable. Being able to take what I learn at work and apply it directly to my studies and vice versa is extremely beneficial as is the knowledge and experience of those around me.

Carl Cooper, May 2019

I started my traineeship after completing my BA in History at Aberystwyth University, my interest in the archive sector started with two internships, the first being with The Hong Kong Heritage Project in 2014, and the second being with Hong Kong University in 2015. Both of these internships showed me how important archives are from a cultural heritage standpoint and from an education standpoint.

The traineeship at the Bodleian presents graduates with a golden ticket into the archive world, giving hands-on training in many different aspects of collection management whilst also helping you to study towards a recognised qualification. The work and study complement each other nicely, and with mentorship from experienced members you rarely feel lost. In addition, the opportunity to start alongside five new trainees has also proven to be immensely helpful as we are developing not only individually but as a team.

The work we have undertaken so far has been extremely varied, our schedules consist of work on Conservative Party Archive, the United Nations, enquiries and digital work in BEAM, each presents its own set of unique challenges and invaluable insight into how archives are run. The work is consistently challenging alongside being endlessly interesting.

The traineeship’s focus on digital archiving showcases the direction the industry is taking. The digital aspects of the traineeship, especially work in BEAM and Web Archiving, has shown us the importance of born-digital preservation and digitation projects and how avoiding a digital ‘dark age’ is hugely important.

The distance learning diploma at Aberystwyth forms an important aspect of the traineeship, the work and study balance is by no means easy but the overlap between many aspects of study and work is particularly useful and means that development at work compliments development academically. In addition, the benefits of emerging from the traineeship with a qualification also cannot be understated and will hugely increase my career prospects in the archive sector.

Part of the traineeship involves attending various archive related events across the UK, these should prove helpful as they both promote the development of new skills and also present a platform for meeting new members of the archive community.

In short, being a trainee at the Bodleian is a unique learning experience that will form the cornerstone of my professional development into the archive sector, it is also something I am very grateful to be a part of.

Ben Peirson-Smith, May 2017

Before starting work at the Bodleian I could never have imagined just what a diverse, exciting, and welcoming place it would be to work. So far I have been involved in many varied and interesting projects including: utilising XML to re-code catalogues from EAD1 to EAD2, web archiving, processing Roy Strong’s personal archive, and answering reader enquiries to mention just a few. I even got to spend an afternoon helping one of our archivists, Catherine McIlwaine, with Tolkien’s spellbinding collection!

My decision to become an archivist has been inspired by my academic and practical trajectory to date, namely my undergraduate degree and masters in History of Art and year-long partnership undertaken at the National Railway Museum. These initial experiences cemented my passion for the material object and led me to want to learn more about its preservation through traditional and digital archiving practices.

I am thoroughly enjoying being a Trainee Digital Archivist here in Oxford. It is wonderful having the opportunity to gain practical experience of a range of collections and archive work (including the Conservative Party Archives and born-digital material), as well as studying for a postgraduate qualification in Digital Curation from Aberystwyth University. Working full time and studying is certainly a challenge but also a highly rewarding one.

I really value the knowledge and skills I have gained from the traineeship so far, the experience has certainly shown me the value of digital archiving in today’s society and I very much look forward to everything the next two years have in store.

Alice MacDonald, May 2017

I started this traineeship just over a month after graduating with a BA in English. I knew from my first year as an undergraduate that I wanted to pursue a career in archiving, and beginning this traineeship has already pushed me so much further towards my goal than I ever would have expected to be at this point.

During my time as an undergrad I had a placement in the Special Collections department at the University of Nottingham which gave me a great first insight into archiving, but this traineeship is providing me with skills that will be invaluable when I’m qualified. I had no experience with digital archiving when I started, only ever paper, but I’m finding it a fascinating aspect of archiving to be involved in. I’m especially enjoying web-archiving, which is something I never expected I would be working on before this traineeship but has become one of my favourite regular tasks. The work is so varied that I definitely feel as though I’m building a rounded and relevant skill-set. One day I might be working on a literary archive, the next I might be working with floppy disks or working in the reading room – it really is very varied.

The Aberystwyth study supports the day to day work, by providing more background and theoretical basis into what I’m doing on the job. It is hard work studying for a post-graduate diploma and working full-time, but as the work and study complement each other well and both are enjoyable it really doesn’t feel as exhausting as it sounds.

I attended an Archives and Records Association literary archives training event recently, and I’m looking forward to future opportunities to attend similar events with the chance to gain outside training and to meet others who are working in archives to see how their experience differs to that of working for the Bodleian. The training sessions with the library trainees are also useful to see how the Bodleian Libraries and College Libraries function in a wider sense, so you can get a feel for where your role fits into the Bodleian as whole… and for a chance to see the BSF in Swindon (and its 153 miles of shelving!)

Ashleigh Fowler, Nov 2016

I was new to Oxford and to archives when I started the traineeship. I studied French and History, then went to teach English in France before returning to the UK to pursue a career in archives. After volunteering in a local museum, where I was introduced to the challenges of managing digital material, I embarked on the digital archives traineeship.

The traineeship is ideal as it combines an emphasis on digital archives with more traditional skills, which means that the training is very rounded. Studying for the postgraduate diploma from Aberystwyth University helps with this too, introducing you to a comprehensive range of theoretical and practical topics. Working full time and undertaking the Archives Administration course in two years does mean that the pace is intensive, but the support from colleagues and the fact that what you are studying is directly applicable and relevant to your work, means that the process is really engaging.

I am really enjoying the variety of work: I can be working on the Bodleian Libraries Web Archive; appraising and cataloguing project files for the Oxfam archive; using different databases and programs; and attending training and conferences on topics such as preserving social media. Working in the reading rooms you also gain valuable experience of how the collections are used. I’m looking forward to cataloguing my own collections, capturing digital material and undertaking a development project with a software engineer. There are lots of opportunities to get involved, for example with the UK Web Archive, led by the British Library. For the first year of the scheme you also attend training sessions for the Graduate Library Trainees programme on topics such as manual handling, e-resources, supporting disabled readers, and digitisation projects.

Being a digital archivist trainee is very rewarding. It is a great place to work, with fantastic colleagues, and I’m looking forward to the next two years and becoming a qualified archivist.

Rachael Gardner, Dec 2015

As a Digital Archivist trainee, you get the best of both worlds. Not only is the programme tailored to equip anyone new to archives with the skillset you need to get a professional qualification in Archive Administration (with an emphasis on the digital curation aspect of it), but you also get to participate in the wider graduate trainee programme that the Bodleian Libraries offers.

I have a STEM background with an MSc in Ethnobotany and research experience. One of the things that really drew me to this traineeship was that I saw first hand all the data and papers generated by research groups and labs that are now born-digital. These are materials that future researchers will want to use whether to replicate experiments or to build on previous research; yet very little thought has gone into their long term preservation.

This traineeship gives me a wide range of practical experience in traditional and digital curation roles while also supporting me as I work towards a professional qualification with Aberystwyth University. Some of the things I’ve done include; working with the British Library on archiving the web, cataloguing hybrid collections, going to conferences and workshops on current issues in digital archives, and much more.

That doesn’t mean that the more traditional aspects of archives are neglected though, and because this traineeship was developed with Aberystwyth’s distance-learning course in mind, often the two dovetail neatly. While it takes a good deal of time management to juggle the two, I prefer the accelerated pace because what you learn stays fresh in your mind and you can quickly see its application in your day to day work.

I am really enjoying the experience and look forward to what the next year brings.

Emily Chen, Oct 2014

Being a Graduate Trainee Digital Archivist at the Bodleian Libraries has enabled me to be involved in a variety of collections work, engage with a range of individuals and expand my knowledge and understanding of archival processes relating to both physical and digital material. With an undergraduate degree and masters in History of Art and a year’s experience as an Archives Assistant, I came to the Bodleian Libraries eager to learn more about digital archiving because of its growing relevance in practices today. I have not only become competent in webarchiving and processing audio-visual material, but have also been introduced to a range of initiatives being undertaken currently to capture and preserve born-digital archives nationally. Alongside this, I have worked with and catalogued material dating as far back as the eighteenth-century, and have assisted readers at the Weston Library and been involved with the running of events and classes here. I am really enjoying working in Oxford and the breadth of the traineeship, which is complemented and strengthened by my distance-learning course at Aberystwyth. Studying for a postgraduate diploma in Archives Administration is enlightening and interesting – so far it has involved researching and submitting a report or essay every 6-8 weeks on a topic such as archival theory, preservation, appraisal and cataloguing. The work and time required to do this is made much more manageable through the support of my department, and I know I will really benefit from gaining the necessary qualification to be an archivist alongside the practical experience of the full-time traineeship.

Harriet Costelloe, Oct 2014