Apply for our Archives and Special Collections Experience Day

These experience days run once a term and give a hands-on interactive experience to introduce students to what happens behind the scenes to care for our eight miles of archives and 70,000 rare books.

Limited to ten places each time to give an exceptionally rich experience, our experienced staff will give introductions to proper handling of archives and rare books, followed by interactive sessions covering all aspects of collections care and management. Students will learn what happens to material when it arrives (appraisal and accessioning), how it is made accessible to the public (cataloguing and production) and also how such unique and old material is physically looked after (preservation and conservation). The day will finish with advice and questions on how to pursue a career in the sector. 

Open to all Durham University undergraduate or postgraduate students, you can apply for a place by writing a 150-word statement on ‘Why I am interested in pursuing a career in archives or rare books’ and sending it via email to pg.library@durham.ac.uk by 11:59pm on Friday 20 October 2023. 

For more information, you can view the full event listing on our website.