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 1 September 2008.  

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 directly for an application pack 
[log in to unmask]  Your completed application form must be 
returned to Ms Leanne Swallow, National Archives of Scotland, 2 Princes 
Street, Edinburgh, Eh1 3YY, to arrive no later than the 28 May 2008. 
Interviews will be held on Thursday 26 June 2008.    
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 we shall interview applicants with 
a disability who satisfy the basic criteria for appointment. A guaranteed 
interview will only be given where an applicant has declared a disability 
on the diversity monitoring form.  

To find out more about Disability in the Civil Service, you can access our 
Disability Fact Sheet at 
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/Recruitment/DisabilityFactsheet 

General Details

Trainee 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.

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.