Archives
Archivists acquire, manage and maintain documents and other materials that have historical and cultural importance for individuals, organisations and nations. They ensure these records are protected and made accessible to researchers, organisations and the public.
Over time, organisations collect materials that provide important evidence about the past and present. These can include:
Organisations that hold archives include government bodies, universities, charities, businesses (e.g. media organisations, banks or retailers), and local authorities.
In the UK, archives are held at local, regional and national level, including The National Archives and local record offices.
Where does this fit into broader careers in heritage?
The archives profession is part of the wider heritage and information sector, alongside museums, libraries, and roles. These areas often overlap, especially in smaller organisations, where job roles may combine responsibilities.
What does an archivist do?
According to the (ARA) the role of an archivist is to preserve records and help people access and use them.
This includes:
The title archivist comes under the umbrella of a records professional, and is a related career area.
Some of the materials used can be fragile and might need conserving or repairing. See the ARA’s section on specific careers in if this appeals to you.
You will also be required to handle certain objects or paper with particular care and be trained in ways to do this. Many papers and/or objects need to be stored at a particular temperature so a lot of archive storage can be at a cooler room temperature than you might be used to.
Digital archives are now a key part of the role, including managing born‑digital material such as emails, videos and datasets.
Archivists work across the UK in:
This is a competitive sector so you will need to be flexible to get a foothold into the profession. Look for opportunities to gain experience in local settings (see 'What can I do while at university?' section for suggestions)
What roles could I do?
Common job titles include:
As well as the obvious interest in history and the need to preserve information, you will need the following:
- An ability to work on your own and as part of a team
- Attention to detail and accuracy
- Good communication skills with the ability to provide excellent customer service
- The ability to keep responding to and predicting changing requirements
- The capacity to undertake some repetitive tasks, for example cataloguing
- Some manual dexterity
Sources such as the offer insights into several roles within the sector including; archivist, researcher and curator.
Developing digital archive skills
Digital skills are increasingly important in archive careers. You can start building these while at university by:
These experiences will help you understand how archivists manage digital records such as emails, databases and multimedia content.
What qualifications do I need?
Typical UK route
Typical UK route
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Degree: You will usually need an undergraduate degree (any subject, though history or related subjects can be useful).
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Gain experience (this is essential before postgraduate study)
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Postgraduate qualification
Most archivists complete a postgraduate course in archives and records management accredited by the Archives & Records Association (ARA). 6 universities offer this course, and they can be found on the
Other Routes
Experience is vital in order to access this popular profession and is a prerequisite of applying for postgraduate study.
Some organisations provide a paid 1-year graduate internship, which tend to be advertised on the ARA website. You can also sign up to get email alerts when they come online. They tend to be advertised in the spring/summer prior to commencement in early autumn. However, these are very competitive so you will probably need to have already undertaken some work experience in an archival setting. This could be via a voluntary project during term time or vacations, or even after you have graduated, possibly around a part time job. Some archives, outside of the 1 year graduate internship, also offer ad hoc paid assistant jobs which you could also look at after graduation.
Where do I look for jobs?
As mentioned in the previous section, initially you need to look for opportunities to gain experience prior to undertaking the postgraduate qualification. As well as the ARA website, depending on the type of organisation, you may find positions on other websites such as the organisation’s own. You could also, via the national archives search tool, prepare a shortlist of archives that you would like to work at and explore whether they have any positions coming up, or recruit volunteers.
What can I do while at university?
There are a number of ways to gain archival experience whilst here at university.
- Firstly there is an where you get the opportunity to gain experience in a local archive over one semester. This runs in both the autumn and spring semesters.
- Other options include volunteering with the University Digital Transformation Hub (Faculty of Arts students) or with the University Manuscripts and Archives team.
- You may also like to obtain your own volunteering in a local archive, as a number of local places offer ad hoc volunteering opportunities.
- During your vacations, you could also look into this if your home is elsewhere as some opportunities can be for as little as one week.
- You could also think about boosting some of the other skills require to be an archivist, as listed in the section ‘What skills do I need?’ via other routes.
If you would like to talk about this in more detail, come and have a chat with us.