Work Experience
Who are we?
The London Archives is the historical archive of the Greater London area. We are the UK’s second largest public archive and one of the largest city archives in the world, our collections include over 3.5 million books, manuscripts, maps, photos prints and films.
Dates of placement
We are offering eight placements for either the week of Monday 15 to Friday 19 June or Monday 29 June to Friday 3 July. You can apply for the full week or certain days, but not both weeks. We hope to accommodate people based on matching their interests to our work, not on a first come first served basis. We will let you know the outcome of your application by Friday 24 April.
What can you expect on a placement with us?
- Introduction to the organisation, with a tour of the key areas of the building, both public and behind the scenes
- The opportunity to observe and support the work of the engagement and learning team.
- A variety of structured hands-on activities across the archives, with different departments to help you to develop the skills you would need to work in a working environment.
- Support from different members of staff in carrying out your work and reflecting on the skills you are learning. You will always have a named contact on hand to support you and answer any questions you have.
- Feedback at the end of the placement on what you’ve achieved and ways to further develop your skills.
We expect you to:
- Deal sensitively and appropriately with students of all ages while supporting our Education Officers
- Get involved and muck in with the activities you are set!
- Let us know if there is anything you are particularly interested in. We may be able to find some relevant documents, or you might want to observe a session on that theme.
- Follow our security and health and safety procedures at all times
- Take part in evaluation of the placement to help us develop and improve the work experience that we offer. We will ask you to either talk to us or provide us with some written feedback about the placement at the end of your time with us.
Tasks and learning outcomes
TLA has a number of teams which you may spend time with:
- Business and operations (B&O)
- Collections Advice (CA)
- Collections knowledge and Engagement (CKE)
- Collections Care (CC)
- Digital Content and Development (DCD)
- Engagement and Learning (E&L)
During your placement you are likely to be asked to complete some of the following tasks.
Health and Safety at work
On your first day you taken through our health and safety policies and procedures, and will be issued with a visitor pass which will enable you to enter parts of the building you need access to – you will need to make sur this is visible at all times.
Your first day
Starting work in an office environment for the first time can be scary! We want you to have a positive experience, and part of that is knowing exactly what to expect. Here we've laid out some of the things that you will do while based at The London Archives. If you have any questions – let us know!