Conservation internship bursaries

The British Library's new Centre for Conservation has proved to be a great success and of enormous interest to visitors since its official opening in October 2007. Part of this success has been the establishment of sound archiving and book conservation training internships for UK and overseas applicants, to tackle the current severe shortage, and lack of educational provision for conservation training.

The Library is confident that it is meeting a vital need in the industry to ensure that a new generation of sound and book professionals can learn and develop these vital skills. The Library is in its second year of training and is delighted to be able to continue this programme of work thanks to generous support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Radcliffe Trust, Headley Trust, the American Trust for the British Library and the Derek Butler Trust.

Through the internships programme, we have already worked with a range of conservators and sound archivists from Brighton to as far afield as South Africa and New Zealand and are delighted to report that our first intern, Mrs Isabelle Egan, was subsequently appointed to the role of Paper Conservator within the Library.

To ensure the most suitable and deserving candidates can take advantage of these unique training opportunities regardless of their financial circumstances, the Library is fundraising for bursaries for the following internships to help the interns meet their living costs:

• 6 x10 week Sound Archive training internships per year @£2,500 each
• 3 year-long Book Conservation training internships per year @ £10,000 each

To support the bursaries scheme, please contact Gabbie Filmer-Pasco

T +44 (0)20 7412 7120
E gabrielle.filmer-pasco@bl.uk

For information on how to apply for these internships, please contact

T +44 (0)20 7412 7776
E Alison Faraday