In June and July, we were joined by Bia for a month’s work experience. Having now completed her placement, we have asked Bia to share her thoughts about Dorset History Centre, and the placement itself…
—
Over June and July, I took part in the Dorset History Centre’s 2024 work experience placement. Although I had been a relatively frequent user of archives at university before starting this placement, I had a limited understanding of what went on behind the scenes to maintain regular, reliable and safe access to collections and the unique characteristics of a local authority archive.
The team at DHC planned a busy and varied schedule, allowing me to get a taste of every role at the archive and be involved in different stages of different tasks. Over the course of four weeks, I was introduced to a range of different parts of the archive sector including conservation, reprographics, public service and digital archiving, as well as some external services such as the Historic Environment Record and the Portable Antiquities Scheme. Throughout, I was not just watching someone do their job but given multiple independent tasks and projects to immerse myself in. This allowed me to experience the challenges and the joys of working in an archive first-hand and gave me a real feel for what working at an archive might be like.
For instance, I was tasked with cataloguing the Peter Thomas Collection – a series of 1460 photographs taken around Dorset by Exeter-based photographer Peter Thomas between 2002-2003 (for which the whole catalogue is now available online). This task showed me the importance of skills such as accuracy and patience to an archivist through needing to carefully record references, locations, extent, dates, titles and descriptions for 1460 photographs (a relatively small collection in comparison to some at DHC!) Additionally, it forced me to begin to think like an archivist when allocating titles and writing descriptions of the photographs by encouraging me to consider a question this placement has shown me to be always at the fore of an archivist’s mind:
Am I enabling this item to be easily found and accessed by archive users?
This task also gave me a glimpse of how satisfying an archivist’s job can be as it was hugely gratifying to see the finished collection on the archive catalogue, now available to help someone in their research.
The value of cataloguing then really become clear through my work towards the Dorset History Centre’s upcoming photography exhibition ‘Dorset’s Summer Past’, happening on Saturday 17th August. Being able to easily find and explore photographs from the Peter Thomas Collection and the recently catalogued Bankes of Kingston Lacy and Corfe Castle Collection was instrumental in me gaining a broader understanding of what summers in Dorset in the past have been like and highlighted just how important the work that goes on behind the scenes to make archival material accessible is in allowing us to understand our county’s history.
As I prepare to begin a master’s course in Public History in September, the past four weeks have demystified the archive sector of heritage industry and showed me what career path could be next after I finish. I feel I have come out of the placement with a better understanding and appreciation of the work and challenges local authority archives undertake and experience. I want to thank everyone at DHC for organising such a valuable and enjoyable experience for me and encourage anyone considering a career in the archive service to apply for next year’s placement!