Libraries and Archives

As mentioned above there are many different roles in the sector, below is a list of some of the most popular. The National Archives  and Archives and Records Association have a useful list of roles and career paths. Prospects also has some detailed job descriptions for roles in the sector.
Job titles are varied and not always consistent across different organisations, often meaning something completely different, with different levels of responsibility etc. Roles in the sector can be full-time, part-time or fixed term contracts.
N.B. Read the job descriptions in detail, focusing on the specifics of the role and job description not the title. Some of the more familiar job titles are listed below:

Academic Librarian  - supports, learning, teaching and research in academic institutions.

Public Librarian  - has responsibility for organising and providing access to a range of information and reading resources to meet the diverse needs of your local community. 

Archivist - manages and maintain documents and other materials that have important historical and cultural significance for individuals, organisations and nations. 

Cataloguer - organises and describes items and records, arranging them in a systemic way, often using specific categorisation standards

Records Manager -  is responsible for the management of an organisation's records

Knowledge Manager - develops and manages complex records systems

Archivist - preserves and manages historical and cultural records and also makes collections accessible to the public and researcher

Archive Conservator  - is responsible for the preservation and conservation of historic documents.

Library Assistant - often an entry level position that encompasses a broad range of work, including customer/client service, sourcing requested books for readers and supporting more senior team members

Skills needed

Each role will have a unique combination of skills required, and a few will have some skills that are not required in other roles (for example, chemistry knowledge for Archival Conservation).  However, in general, working in library and information work requires:

• Good organisational skills
• Analytical thinking; the ability to synthesise ‘big picture’ issues and remember small details
• Interest and ability in working with IT systems and tools
• Customer service and good interpersonal skills, with a desire to help users of the information service
• Adaptability and flexibility, particularly in response to changing user needs
• Good communication skills, both written and oral
• High-level accuracy and attention to detail, as well as seeing the value of precise work
• An investigative mind that seeks to solve problems laterally and imaginatively
• Research skills

You don’t, however, need Latin to become an archivist. According to the ARA “whilst knowledge of Latin is undoubtedly a useful skill to have as an archivist, most medieval records have already been catalogued and translated, so it is not as essential as it may have been in the past”.

Getting experience

Libraries

There are lots of ways to get good quality work experience in libraries, and if you’re studying at Oxford you’re in an ideal place to access it. Talk to your college or department/faculty librarian about their job, and find out what the opportunities might be to get involved.

If you’re outside of Oxford, there are often ways to get involved in your local public or school libraries, either through paid work as a library assistant, or by supporting library events, groups or promotional activities. Usually the first thing to do is to get in touch with the service to ask what might be possible.

If you have little or no relevant library and information experience and your degree is unrelated to information and library work, you can find paid experience via CILIP's Graduate Training Opportunities scheme. 

Libraries and archives in other sectors of industry can be harder to research. Although there are strong societies for people who work in law libraries who you could contact – see the British and Irish Association of Law Libraries webpages, it’s less the case in other industries. You could follow the advice in this website's guidance on networking pages and research people on LinkedIn to find out who’s working as a ‘librarian’ or ‘information manager’ within your region (and even who’s an Oxford graduate too). These could be good people to approach about work shadowing or work experience.

A hot topic in the world of libraries is ‘job substitution’. This is where work that would previously have been undertaken by a paid staff member is now undertaken by a volunteer. You will find very few ‘volunteering opportunities’ promoted by professional library bodies.

Archives

Two main areas to explore when looking for archival work experience are:

• The Archives and Records Association – which offers a professional development programme and has a list of placements that is updated annually, ranging from paid one-year roles, to two-week voluntary opportunities. However, many opportunities are arranged by directly contacting an archive to ask for experience, and so…
• The National Archives Database – can be used to explore 2,500 archives.

There is often confusion about whether you should be paid to do an internship or work experience. It will depend on your arrangement with the employer as well as on the status of the employer. To find out if you are entitled to be paid when undertaking work experience or an internship, visit the Government’s webpages on the National Living Wage.

There are many varied and different routes including, direct entry, graduate roles and apprenticeships. Below are some entry level routes:

Assistant Librarian

This job title can be for "direct-entry" or graduate scheme entry positions. The requirements and job descriptions can vary greatly, with some roles requiring extensive work experience.

Graduate traineeships

These roles are for graduates with some requiring specific degrees and disciplines. The Bodleian Libraries have two graduate schemes the Libraries and Digital Archivist Graduate Schemes. Some Oxford colleges also offer trainee librarian schemes  - New College and Christ Church have offered these in the past.

Further Study

Some roles eg: conservation roles may require further study for entry level positions and it may become more important to gain specific qualifications to progress in your career. 

More information about both is available at the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, and the Archives and Records Association.

This is a popular sector for many graduates, however in recent years, funding cuts to local council budgets and academic and cultural/heritage institutions, means that the sector is very competitive. Therefore, when looking for work, be flexible in your approach by applying to full-time, part-time and fixed term roles. Search for vacancies advertised on the organisations' websites and if no vacancies are currently advertised, be pro-active and contact them to find out how they recruit and if they have a specific recruitment timeline/cycle.  

Networking can also be useful to learn more about the sector and gain advice about navigating the job market from working professionals

General

• The National Archives
• National Archives – Novice to Know How  - Free online training on digital preservation
• Archives & Records Association UK & Ireland
• www.prospects.ac.uk – job profiles,  including salary information on roles eg: archivist, public librarian, academic librarian etc.
• Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals - jobs board for CILIP, for graduate traineeships and library work 
• Information and Records Management Society

Sector vacancies

• LIS Job Net – Key jobs site for library and information work
• Information and Records Management Society
• Archival Jobs in Museums – hosted by the University of Leicester
• JISCMail – Archive-related email list from education and research – check recent month for job opportunity posts
• Jobs.ac.uk – Higher education jobs in library services and information management 
• Local Government Jobs – Local roles in archives and libraries
• Local Gov Jobs - similar to above 
• LinkedIn Jobs
• I Need A Library Job – Great board for USA, Canada, and a fair amount of UK roles too

Occupational information

• Bodleian Trainee Blog – Blog from the Bodleian’s graduate library trainees, with lots of case studies and information on roles in academic, legal, local studies, public and voluntary sector libraries
• Archives and Records Association: Careers Guide – Really good information, with specific guides for careers in record management, archives and archive conservation
• ‘What is a Legal Information Professional?’ – Great introduction to work in law libraries by the British and Irish Association of Law Libraries (BIALL), training required and plenty of useful links
• Prospects careers pages – Types of jobs in information services – ranging widely from archaeology to trade mark attorney. Good for broadening out ideas!

Recruitment agencies

• Glen Recruitment – Information sector specialist
• Sue Hill – Information and market, insight and analysis sector specialist
• TFPL – Information, knowledge and data specialist
• CB Resourcing

Recruiters are keen to have a diverse workforce, and many will have policies and processes that are proactive in recruiting students and graduates from diverse backgrounds. An increasing number of recruiters are offering traineeships, internships and insight events that are aimed at specific groups and many are being recognised for their approach to being inclusive employers.

Try the following to discover more about the policies and attitudes of the recruiters that you are interested in:

• Read their equality, diversity and inclusion policy
• Search their website to see if they have any specific staff networks
• Look for external accreditation such as whether they are a Disability Confident employer, a Stonewall Diversity Champion or part of the Mindful Employer charter promoting mental health at work
• Check to see if they are partnering with organisations such as Rare Recruitment, SEO London, MyPlus Students' Club, EmployAbility or one of the many other organisations that are working for specific communities
• Explore what they do to celebrate diversity on their Facebook and Twitter pages

In library and information work, CILIP has a BAME support network and an LGBTQ+ support network for members.

The UK Equality Act 2010 has a number of protected characteristics to prevent discrimination due to your age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or beliefs, sex or sexual orientation. For further information, visit the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s webpage on the Equality Act and the Government’s webpages on discrimination.