In July we welcomed two students to Dorset History Centre for a month to learn about what goes on behind-the-scenes at an archive. As part of this placement, the students have written blogs about their time with us, and what they have got out of the placement. Last week we introduced you to Lara, who explained what she got out of the placement. This week Cat shares her thoughts on the month…
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My name is Catherine, and I am in my second year studying history at Bournemouth University. Over the past four weeks, I have had the chance to experience the daily life and work of an archivist and the varied job roles within the archive. Applying for this role, I wanted to gain invaluable experience for my future career and an insight into the vast job opportunities within a history degree, with the aim of helping to narrow down what kind of job I would like to go into after graduating. I think it’s fair to say that I accomplished those aims.
During my time at the archives, I have undertaken many different tasks related to different sectors of work in the archives – for example, cataloguing. This was probably my favourite task out of them all, as I particularly enjoyed the aspect of being able to physically touch and engage with history, as well as the organisation skills of putting the documents into series. One of the main cataloguing projects we undertook was the Bridport CND collection, which I found particularly interesting since I wrote one of my University essays on nuclear fears in Cold War culture, so being able to engage with sources that directly related to that was fascinating.
Furthermore, another task that I particularly enjoyed was the conservationist work we did on the Quarterly Session scrolls. During this we were responsible for the cleaning and flattening of scrolls from the 18th century – my one was from the Bridport Quarterly Session of 1751. Despite being a messy and delicate job, it was incredibly satisfying to see the words on the paper and parchments be restored, as well as being able to physically hold things from the 18th century!
Another part of the work experience I enjoyed was the opportunity to experience life within the heritage sector through days spent at Max Gate and Kingston Lacy. During those days, we joined in on tours with the volunteers and even took part on curator tasks, such as redesigning the Thomas Hardy bedroom for their 2028 refurbishment.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Dorset History Centre, and it has certainly opened my eyes to the career opportunities within history, as well as allowing me to gain invaluable experience working in the archives and heritage sector. This month has really cemented what I want to do post-university, and I would urge anyone who is unsure about their future career to get as much hands-on experience as possible. I would highly recommend doing that in the archives!!