National Archives of Scotland
Graduate Trainee Archivists
Salary £17 000
The National Archives of Scotland has two one-year fixed term appointments
within its Reader Services and Private Records Branches. You will mainly
be based at HM General Register House, 2 Princes Street, Edinburgh. In
Reader Services Branch you will work in the Historical Search Room and be
expected to advise the public on records relevant to their research and
answer written and telephone enquiries. In Private Records Branch you
will be involved in various aspects of cataloguing work (including using
CALM). The successful candidates will spend six months in each branch.
Contracts will start in August 2007.
You will be expected to establish and respond positively to different
customer needs and you will have excellent communication skills. You will
be a self-starter and a team player. You will have an honours degree,
preferably first or upper second class, in history or another arts subject
and a keen interest in archive work.
These one-year work placement opportunities are for graduates looking to
achieve the pre-course requirement for a full-time university archive
diploma course. You will be expected to apply for such a course during
your appointment.
Please contact Leanne Swallow for more specific information (details
below). It is important that you obtain this, and that you follow the
detailed application guidelines described there.
Applications should take the form of a covering letter and a CV which must
include qualifications and examples of work experience which demonstrate
how you meet the competencies described in this advert. You should also
include contact details for two referees, one academic and one work-
based. Please submit all documentation to Leanne Swallow, National
Archives of Scotland, H M General Register House, Edinburgh, EH1 3YY (tel:
0131 535 1332; email: [log in to unmask]). The closing date for
receipt of applications is Monday 21 May 2007. Interviews will be held on
Wednesday 6 June 2007.
We welcome applications from all suitably qualified people and aim to
employ a diverse workforce which reflects the people of Scotland.
Disability
We are participants in the Employment Services “Positive about Disability”
scheme. Under the terms of the scheme candidates with a disability who
meet the minimum criteria for the post will be invited to interview.
Summary of principal duties of the posts
Graduate Trainee Search Room Archivist
Historical Search Section
General Duties
1. To advise readers on NAS sources and the use of finding aids and
also on record sources held elsewhere.
2. To reply to written and telephone enquiries on historical topics
and record sources in NAS and elsewhere.
3. Other duties as appropriate.
Business Objectives
1. To draft answers to written enquiries in time to enable the
Section to meet its overall target of 95% answered within 20 working days,
in order to inform enquirers accurately about the resources of the NAS and
other institutions.
2. [Timing to be agreed with line manager depending on previous
experience], gain a working knowledge of the core NAS collections in order
to be able to provide high quality advice to readers and enquirers.
Graduate Trainee Archivist
Private Records Branch
General Duties
1. Cataloguing records of historical interest, using the NAS’s CALM
electronic catalogue.
2. Editing existing catalogues.
3. Assisting with the administration of collections, including
possible liaison with depositors.
4. Providing cover for staff in the Historical Search Room.
5. Occasionally assisting the branch’s cataloguing officers.
6. Helping others in the branch with archival duties that may arise.
Business Objectives
1. Cataloguing 800 record file entries.
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