Untold lives blog

PhD students are invited to apply for a new placement which focuses on the British Library’s collections of First World War printed ephemera. This is an opportunity to examine an alternative perspective on what went on behind the lines on the Western Front.

The Printed Heritage and Collections team are looking for a postgraduate student to help them promote a hitherto largely hidden collection of First World War ephemera. This 3-month (or P/T equivalent) PhD placement, is one of seventeen projects currently on offer at the British Library.

British soldiers at play France (Photo 24-320) H.D. Girdwood collection (1915). British Library, Wikimedia Commons.

The background for this project is the Library’s wider collection of printed items published during the First World War, located within Western Heritage Collections, and including monographs, periodicals, pamphlets, leaflets and other ephemera.

In the context of the First World War Centenary, this project offers an exciting opportunity to research one of the British Library’s collections of ephemera, discover more about the context of its creation and promote it to a wider audience. The body of material, which has not been digitised, includes programmes for sports contests, vegetable shows and musical productions. The placement holder will be responsible for producing a descriptive record of the items, including details of the creating organisation (unit etc), place of publication and date. This record will be made visible through the British Library’s public catalogue, and there will be further potential opportunities to disseminate any findings via the Library’s World War One website, the Untold Lives blog, and/or through a resource guide or outreach event. 

The successful candidate will be granted considerable autonomy in deciding their research approach, and the most appropriate way of promoting the material. They can expect to work closely with specialist curators in the Printed Heritage Collections and develop valuable research skills. In addition to an induction to the British Library, training in the use of spreadsheets, and an introduction to a range of online subscription databases, all placement students will be allocated their own desk and/or workspace, and will be fully integrated into the working environment of their team/department.

Full details of the scheme and profiles of the 17 projects that are being offered can be seen here. All applications must be supported by the applicant’s PhD supervisor and their department’s Graduate Tutor (or equivalent). The application deadline, for all of the 2016/2017 PhD placements, is 19 February 2016.

Jane Shepard
Research Support Intern