Before we post her interviews with colleagues later in the week, Whitney, one of our volunteers, explains how she’s been delving into the mysterious world of the archivist…

Hi my name is Whitney. I recently graduated from Hertfordshire University where I studied English Literature and Journalism. I’m now volunteering at MERL which is a really exciting place to volunteer for someone like me who is super curious about discovering new artefacts and collections that were of significant cultural and social symbolism to the past generation. I also love reading personal stories and looking through photos of individuals and understanding how the countryside shaped their lives.

So I was recently given a great opportunity to step into the world of archiving for a couple of weeks and interview some amazing archivists around MERL in the run up to Explore Your Archives week. It has truly been a fun, insightful and engaging experience. I’ve asked questions in relation to the future of archiving in the digital era, modern vs traditionalist approach to archiving, the world of cataloguing and the influence of social media on the circulation of information. I have been overwhelmed with the amount of information, and I can actually say that I know a little bit more about the world of archiving. Over the next week, I’ll be posting a few conversations I had with MERL archivists. I really got a sense of their passion for their jobs so I hope you enjoy reading the interviews.  If you have any burning questions about archiving pop them below and I’ll see if I can find the answers for you!