If you love stories, analysis and creative writing, you might consider becoming an archivist or records manager. Both roles involve protecting, organising and making available written, spoken or visual evidence of the past. Records managers are responsible for the ‘primary phase’ of the records, when they are useful to the creating institution for information governance and accountability. Archivists deal with records in their ‘secondary phase’ for long-term preservation and research. As professionals dealing with information, archivists and records managers collaborate and in smaller institutions might be the same person with two aspects to their job.
Archives hold maps, committee minute books, ancient charters, property deeds, photographs, accounts, letters, diaries, glass-plate negatives, notebooks, sound recordings, films and digital files. They also hold stories, secrets, expressions of love or hate, erased sentences revealing a change of mind, a few jottings or drafts catching a moment of inspiration, and details of ancestors traced through a name on a page. As well as publishers’ records concerning the relative success or failure of literary works, drafts and corrections to manuscripts can also shed light upon an author’s working methods. Have a look at the British Library website to see what they hold relating to your core texts: www.tinyurl.com/vlw6c2e
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