In 2026, University Library Archives welcomed two final-year undergraduate students from Politics and Contemporary History for work-based learning placements. This optional module gives students the opportunity to apply their academic knowledge in a workplace setting. This hands-on approach enables the students to develop new skills and gain valuable day-to-day professional experience.
Charlie Sheerin worked within the University Library Archives team on the Harold Riley Collection. In the following blog post, Charlie was encouraged to reflect on how the knowledge and skills he developed through his academic work could be transferred to a real-world professional environment.
Who are you and what’s your project on?
My name is Charlie. I’m a Contemporary Military and International History student, taking the module placement in my final semester at the University of Salford. My project is to curate a digital collection on the Salford artist, Harold Riley. The finished work will be accessible on the University’s Digital Archives website.
What drew you to working with the University’s Archives?
When I arrived at the University of Salford, I saw that a placement module existed. I thought that it would be a great way of experiencing what my degree had to offer in terms of a career. When the opportunity at the Archives arose it felt a good fit. As a history student, I already understood the importance of Archive work in the historical community. Plus, whilst I was in College, I took an interest in Archives as a career path, so it seemed like the right choice to make.
How did you find the initial research and digging through the archives?
At first, the research aspect of the Archives was not new, but the work was more thorough than anything I’d experienced before. In a professional setting, there’s a higher standard of validation and background work that needs to be completed for projects that you’re assigned. You need to cover every aspect of what you create, ensuring that you either have permission to publish the content, or that your facts are correct. You’re aware that others will be relying on the information that you provide.
Digging through the Archives was a new and interesting experience. It begins with learning how to navigate the Archives, by understanding the organisational methods. Once an understanding of the organisational methods is built, searching the Archives becomes a lot easier. At times, the amount of content you have to search through can seem daunting. Some boxes contain multitudes of documents that are irrelevant to the project that you’re working on – but you have to review them, nevertheless.
What’s the most memorable thing you found in the archives?
I found letters from the 19th Century. The content was mostly simple matters, like a job reference or general queries. But to think that they were around 200 years old and detailed someone’s career and life was an interesting concept to contemplate.
What’s the most unexpected thing you’ve had to learn since you started the project?
The use of spreadsheets was a surprise to me. Having to re-learn spreadsheets was something I did not imagine I’d need to do when going into the Archives. But it turns out spreadsheets are a vital component and essential when cataloguing material. Alongside that, re-learning the concept of Metadata was something of a surprise as well. I’d had previous experience with Metadata on my course, but I hadn’t considered how important it would be to documenting Archive materials.
Has working with archives changed how you think about history or the value of primary sources?
Not in a straightforward way, but it certainly has changed my view on the effort that goes on behind the scenes in the Archives. When studying History, you develop an understanding of the importance of primary sources. But you don’t see what goes into making a primary source. Instead, you find out if you can use it, reference it, and then move on. However, with this placement, it certainly made me more appreciative of the effort made to preserve primary sources.
In terms of my thoughts on History, they’ve not really changed from when I began my course. That said, it is different when you see real physical history, because generally, when you’re being taught history, you’re learning about a concept and relying on your imagination to fill in the blanks. With the Archives, the content is from a specific time period, and it can be held and read, making the experience feel more real.
