GWL houses a truly unique collection of materials relating to diverse women’s lives and contributions. Our collection include materials documenting women’s role in: activism, work, including in the home, arts, crafts and textiles, LBGTQ history, anti-racist work, as well as several organisational archives such as violence against women groups, campaign groups, and women’s organisations. You can find out more about our archive here.
We are currently looking for a volunteer who can help us to make these important and valuable materials more accessible to more people through listing, cataloguing, rehousing and interpreting collections.
Who is this role for?
We’re looking for someone who is on the pathway to becoming an archivist and wants put the theory they are learning into practice. This could also be someone who has worked or volunteered in an archive before and would like to refresh their cataloguing skills and/or gain experience in a different setting.
We are also looking for someone with all of the following interests, experience and availability:
- Experience of cataloguing archive materials or in the process of gaining an archive qualification
- A commitment to GWL’s vision and values and Code of Conduct
- Experience of working with Excel or other databases
- A passion for organising, sorting, and making materials accessible
- A minimum of 4 hours per week (or a full day every 2 weeks) on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday (between 10am and 4.30pm)
We particularly interested in hearing from applicants who identify with our priority groups:
- Women who live in our local neighbourhood (postcodes beginning with G40)
- Women who identify as disabled, or have a long-term or chronic health condition, sensory impairment, cognitive or learning disability or mental health condition
- Women of colour or women from an ethnic minority
All women-only opportunities and events are inclusive of trans and intersex women, as well as non-binary and gender-fluid people who are comfortable in a space that centres the experiences of women.
If you do not meet these criteria:
There is a lot of interest in volunteering with our archive and unfortunately we can only accommodate a few volunteers at the time. However, if you are interested in other areas of our work and you fall within our priority groups (see above), you are welcome to apply through our general volunteering pathway from May 2025 (exceptionally, due to staff absence, we are not currently accepting general applications).
You might also find the Make Your Mark website useful for finding other archive volunteering opportunities. https://makeyourmark.scot/
Or if you are interested in accessing our archives you can:
- Arrange a research visit. Find out more here.
- Look out for our Open Archive events. The next one, on Saturday 19th April 2025, will delve into materials relating to eco-feminism and women’s role in environmental activism. (information about this will be available online once our Spring Programme is launched on 6th February 2025)
What we offer:
- A full induction covering both the work and history of GWL, and the archives
- Ongoing support from our archivist and a member of the Volunteering Programme team
- Unique training about GWL’s feminist approach to cataloguing and classification of materials
- Work experience and a reference
- Learning about an equalities organisation
- A supportive and inclusive environment
- A flexible and person-centred approach which takes into consideration individual needs and motivations for volunteering (you can tell us about this in your application form)
- The opportunity to get hands on with our diverse archive collections dedicated to women’s lives, activism and achievements
- Training for the cataloguing system we use (AtoM)
- Opportunities to meet other GWL team members (staff, volunteers, and students on placement) and to get involved in GWL
- Travel expenses, up to £6 per day
Timescales:
Please apply by completing this application form and returning it by 12 noon Friday 24th January 2025. Please email the form to info@womenslibrary.org.uk
We will review applications as soon as possible after the deadline and, depending on how many we receive, will contact some applicants to arrange a 30 minute meeting (which can be held in person or online) week beginning the 3rd February. We will notify all applicants of the outcome of their application by 7th February.
Induction, training and start: end of February 2025
