Work experience at Exeter Cathedral Library and Archives
Are you interested in pursuing a career in history, historic libraries, or archives? Spend a week away from the classroom to discover what it is like to work in a Cathedral Library and Archives. You could help to catalogue or photograph an object, curate a small display, or write a blog.
We offer annual work experience placements for Year 10 and Year 12 students during the first two weeks of July. Each week-long placement is for one student (or two students if from the same school). All placements are unpaid.
Work placements dates for 2025:
Week One: 30 June – 4 July
Week Two: 7 – 11 July
What you will do:
Work experience is a great way to get a feel for working in historic libraries and archives. During your placement you will work closely with our team to learn about life as a rare book librarian and archivist. You will learn how to bring historic library and archive collections to life for visitors of all ages and stages, and how to care for collections and make them accessible. You will be involved in a number of tasks, including, but not limited to:
- Curating a small display
- Writing a blog for the Cathedral’s newsletter
- Creating a social media post or reel
- Observing and evaluating group visits
- Invigilating researchers in the Reading Room
- Cataloguing objects
- Helping out at public events
How to apply:
We ask you to complete a short application so that we can make sure that the skills and experience we can offer fit with your interests and expectations. We will also invite you to attend a short interview at the Cathedral Library and Archives, or online, so that we can find out more about you and what you hope to get from work experience. Please note that we usually receive more applications than we can support. Applicants who are not successful may wish to come on one of our Discovery Days, information about these can be found below.
The closing date for applications is Monday 10 February and interviews will be held on Tuesday 25 February, either in-person or online.
Discovery days:
Discovery days are offered all year round to individuals or small groups of any age or stage who are interested in pursuing a career in historic libraries and/or archives. Please email us for more information.