Volunteering
Volunteering
There are many different aspects to volunteering in the record-keeping sector.
Our ARA members volunteer with us to help keep the association relevant and connected to the membership - you can find out about volunteering opportunities for members here.
Many people looking to enter the record-keeping sector or studying for archives and records management qualifications find that volunteering in a record-keeping organisation can help them with their career development and their studies. You can find out about volunteering in the record-keeping sector here.
Record-keeping sector organisations also often have volunteering programmes for members of the public and we support the sector with a range of information on volunteering in our volunteering resources section here.
ARA also runs the Archive Volunteering Awards each year and you can find more information on that here.
Below are some case studies drawn from entries to these awards.
You will also find links to our Outside the Box volunteering special podcasts which provide further insight into volunteering within the sector.
Recent winners of the ARA Archive Volunteering Award:
Outside the Box - Volunteering Specials
The Outside the Box podcast is part of the Explore Your Archive campaign. You can find all episodes here.
In 2023 we produced a series of specials episodes focussed on volunteering.
#CrowdCymru - Outside the Box podcast
#CrowdCymru is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and run jointly by Gwent Archives, Glamorgan Archives and Cardiff University Special Collections & Archives. They are a PILOT digital archives volunteer project, everything their volunteers do is online via a bilingual, digital, crowd sourcing platform. This platform, established by the National Library Wales, allows remote volunteers, anywhere in the world [as long as they have online access/device] to work on the digital collections that the project partners are providing. Archive services across Wales hold millions of irreplaceable records, but many are only minimally catalogued and therefore difficult to identify and find. This project will harness the knowledge of individuals in communities across Wales and beyond to enrich our collective heritage for the benefit of current and future generations - locally, nationally, and globally. Find our more via their website here.
The Avebury Papers - Outside the Box podcast
Listen into our conversation with (part of!) the team from Avebury and Alexander Keiller Museum to learn more about the archives and Avebury Papers project. The Avebury Papers is an Arts and Humanities Research Council funded project to digitise, explore, and share the archive of Avebury’s Neolithic origins and its subsequent life-history. Part of this research involves making finds and documentation from 1930s excavations at Avebury - including letters, diaries, and photographs - searchable and freely available. National Trust volunteers are generously contributing their skills, time, and enthusiasm to bring this exciting collection to the world! Find out more at aveburypapers.org and @AveburyPapers on instagram.
The Mass Observation Archive - Outside the Box podcast Part 1 and Part 2
The Mass Observation Archive specialises in material about everyday life in Britain. It contains papers generated by the original Mass Observation social research organisation (1937 to early 1950s), and newer material collected continuously since 1981 (Mass Observation Project). The Archive is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation in the care of the University of Sussex. It is housed at The Keep as part of the University's Special Collections. The Mass Observation Archive hosts an active public engagement programme and is able to arrange talks, workshops and teaching sessions. They welcome enquiries about visits from individuals and groups as well as those about collaborating with Mass Observation for research and community projects. Find out how to become a mass observer: http://www.massobs.org.uk/write-for-us/become-a-mass-observer