Website Chevening
This fellowship will be hosted by the Endangered Archives Programme (EAP). The Programme is of international prominence in its mission to preserve documentary heritage at risk of destruction, neglect or physical deterioration.
Benefits
- 12-month period of project-based activity at the British Library
- Living expenses for the duration of the fellowship
- Return economy airfare from home country to the UK
- Up to £1,000 from the British Library for approved project-related expenses
- Access to a programme of cultural events and activities organised by the FCDO and the Chevening Secretariat
- Access to a highly regarded global network of over 50,000 Chevening Alumni
Candidate Requirements
Essential
- Fluency in reading Arabic/Ajami script
- Demonstrable knowledge of Islamic manuscript culture
- Strong computer skills and familiarity with Excel spreadsheets
- Excellent written and spoken English
- Familiarity with using social media
Desirable
- Interest in Digital Humanities
- Understanding of cataloguing metadata
- Written French
Key Responsibilities
- Set up a crowdsourcing project for West African manuscripts using Zooniverse (guidance will be provided)
- Promote the crowdsourcing project within West Africa as well as relevant institutions outside of the region
- Engage with the community of contributors
- Help promote the project more widely through blog articles and collection highlights on the Library’s webpage, to encourage further engagement with the collections
Deliverables
- Create at least 5,000 titles in Arabic, to be incorporated into the Library’s catalogue
- Create a step-by-step guide on setting up a crowdsourcing project
- Create a document about lessons learnt, with opportunity to develop insights into an article and/or a presentation for the UK Libraries & Archives Group on Africa (SCOLMA)
- An article about the project on the Asian and African Studies blog or in an external newsletter/journal
- A show & tell session/staff talk
Development Opportunities
- Behind-the-scenes experience of curatorial work at a national library and major cultural institution in the UK
- Staff-level access to unique British Library collections and research resources including access to staff training courses, workshops and talks
- In-depth understanding of the work of the Endangered Archives Programme (EAP) and opportunity to work closely with British Library staff, in particular with the Digital Research and the EAP teams
- Opportunity to enhance spoken and written English through work practice and collaboration with colleagues
- Networking opportunities across the British Library and a range of external networks in the UK and internationally, including attendance at the UK Libraries & Archives Group on Africa (SCOLMA) conference
- Specialist crowdsourcing training and opportunity to promote the project and engage audiences through a range of communication and networking channels
