Library, Information and Archive Services Assistant Apprentice

Summary

This apprenticeship opportunity is to work in the library and archives at the British Film Institute. If you are interested in film, culture, society and working within a team to provide excellent customer service and support to our users then this is the apprenticeship for you.

Annual wage

£24,618 a year

Minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)

N/A

Training course

Library, information and archive services assistant (level 3)

Hours

33 hours per week, Monday to Friday with some evening and weekend work as required. The apprentice will work at BFI Southbank Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XT, with reimbursed weekly travel to the archives at our Berkhamsted site

33 hours a week

Possible start date

Saturday 1 March

Duration

1 year 6 months

Positions available

1

Work

As an apprentice, you’ll work at a company and get hands-on experience. You’ll gain new skills and work alongside experienced staff.

What you’ll do at work

The apprentice will:

Support the Library and Special Collections teams in the provision of a proactive frontline service for all visitors to the BFI Reuben Library and Special Collections research service.

Undertake general library and paper archive duties, such as shelving, tidying, processing, digitisation, rehousing, retrieval, selected cataloguing support and other stock maintenance and collections care duties; help users with research enquiries; participate in the delivery of events about the paper collections of the BFI

Contribute to the development and marketing of the paper collections to encourage wider engagement and access; facilitating research appointments; support the aims of the wider Library and Special Collections teams.

Where you’ll work

Belvedere Road

London

SE1 8XT

Training

An apprenticeship includes regular training with a college or other training organisation. At least 20% of your working hours will be spent training or studying.

College or training organisation

WESTMINSTER CITY COUNCIL

Your training course

Library, information and archive services assistant (level 3)

Equal to A level

Course contents

Interpret and implement policy, e.g. communicating clearly the basic copyright restrictions and reasons for not sharing personal data
Undertake regulation and compliance checking, e.g. in order to ensure data protection is not breached
Solve user problems in a range of situations using their knowledge and interpretation
Use information management processes to store, manage and retrieve records and data to support collaboration, exploitation and the organisation’s Information Management (IM) practices
Describe and arrange material/resources, by observing and applying identified cataloguing standards in order to create online catalogues and other finding aids to meet users’ needs
Employ information retrieval techniques to identify and use relevant media and systems, e.g. searching online databases, catalogues or physical stores, and EDRMS (electronic document record management systems)
Perform preservation (analogue/physical and digital) practices to keep collections physically safe using institutional/sector guidelines, and supporting work that provides digital access by creating alternatives that meet a range of user requirements
Use enquiry techniques to clarify and meet users’ information requirements and manage expectations, e.g. by signposting to alternative resources and providing solutions
Develop knowledge sharing with users, cultivating an environment where knowledge is freely shared and sought within a ‘safe’ environment, including online solutions
Use relevant approaches to learning support to contribute to the development of learning activities for different audiences to enhance knowledge and literacy, e.g. reader development
Select and use appropriate tools and technologies to support users in researching and disseminating information, e.g. databases, search engines, digital libraries, repositories and social media
Develop information and digital skills to support users to identify, find, access and evaluate information, to share knowledge and to promote self-help
Demonstrate information sharing by contributing to learning activities for specific audiences, e.g. inductions and events, catering to a variety of levels of knowledge and understanding
Use promotion techniques for resources so that users and potential users are aware of their value, impact and benefit, e.g. by curating collections and displays in effective ways, undertaking outreach activities to guide users to achieve independence in their use of information
Implement the organisation’s collection management policy, e.g. through identifying stock that should be acquired and that which is no longer used or needed, and relegating or removing these appropriately
Develop the service by assessing the learning environment and anticipating user needs, e.g. re-organising study/virtual spaces, suggesting improvements to catalogues or web pages
Use teamwork and collaboration to achieve goals, e.g. with stakeholders and partners beyond the organisation
Use information provision to enable users to access materials, e.g. through lending books/artefacts, emailing documents, accessing original archives, signposting links to information
Exercise communication skills - oral, written, presentation, interpersonal, listening, assertiveness (online and face to face)
Interpret and implement policy, e.g. communicating clearly the basic copyright restrictions and reasons for not sharing personal data
Undertake regulation and compliance checking, e.g. in order to ensure data protection is not breached
Solve user problems in a range of situations using their knowledge and interpretation
Use information management processes to store, manage and retrieve records and data to support collaboration, exploitation and the organisation’s Information Management (IM) practices
Describe and arrange material/resources, by observing and applying identified cataloguing standards in order to create online catalogues and other finding aids to meet users’ needs
Employ information retrieval techniques to identify and use relevant media and systems, e.g. searching online databases, catalogues or physical stores, and EDRMS (electronic document record management systems)
Perform preservation (analogue/physical and digital) practices to keep collections physically safe using institutional/sector guidelines, and supporting work that provides digital access by creating alternatives that meet a range of user requirements
Use enquiry techniques to clarify and meet users’ information requirements and manage expectations, e.g. by signposting to alternative resources and providing solutions
Develop knowledge sharing with users, cultivating an environment where knowledge is freely shared and sought within a ‘safe’ environment, including online solutions
Use relevant approaches to learning support to contribute to the development of learning activities for different audiences to enhance knowledge and literacy, e.g. reader development
Select and use appropriate tools and technologies to support users in researching and disseminating information, e.g. databases, search engines, digital libraries, repositories and social media
Develop information and digital skills to support users to identify, find, access and evaluate information, to share knowledge and to promote self-help
Demonstrate information sharing by contributing to learning activities for specific audiences, e.g. inductions and events, catering to a variety of levels of knowledge and understanding
Use promotion techniques for resources so that users and potential users are aware of their value, impact and benefit, e.g. by curating collections and displays in effective ways, undertaking outreach activities to guide users to achieve independence in their use of information
Implement the organisation’s collection management policy, e.g. through identifying stock that should be acquired and that which is no longer used or needed, and relegating or removing these appropriately
Develop the service by assessing the learning environment and anticipating user needs, e.g. re-organising study/virtual spaces, suggesting improvements to catalogues or web pages
Use teamwork and collaboration to achieve goals, e.g. with stakeholders and partners beyond the organisation
Use information provision to enable users to access materials, e.g. through lending books/artefacts, emailing documents, accessing original archives, signposting links to information
Exercise communication skills - oral, written, presentation, interpersonal, listening, assertiveness (online and face to face)

Your training plan

The apprentice will complete their Library, Information and Archive Services Assistant Level 3 with Training Provider, Westminster Adult Education Service (WAES). They will be employed 5 days a week by the BFI but receive 1 day off a week (20% Off the Job Learning) for their apprenticeship studies.

Apprentices will attend 1 in person taught session per month at a WAES London site and 1 online taught session a month via Teams. The alternate weeks they will do self-directed learning at home.

More training information

Westminster Adult Education Service has many years’ experience in successfully training and preparing Apprentices for assessment from a wide range of businesses across a variety of sectors. They have a five-star rating from our apprenticeship employer partners on the Government’s apprenticeship service. They are specialists in Cultural Heritage apprenticeship provision.

To find out more go to:

https://www.waes.ac.uk/partnerships/apprenticeships/

Requirements

Desirable qualifications

GCSE in:

English (grade Grade C or above (or 4 -9))
Maths (grade Grade C or above (or 4 -9))

Let the company know about other relevant qualifications and industry experience you have. They can adjust the apprenticeship to reflect what you already know.

Skills

Communication skills
IT skills
Attention to detail
Organisation skills
Customer care skills
Problem solving skills
Presentation skills
Administrative skills
Number skills
Analytical skills
Logical
Team working
Creative
Initiative
Non judgemental
Patience
Physical fitness

About this company

The British Film Institute (BFI) is a cultural charity, a National Lottery distributor, and the UK’s lead organisation for film and the moving image. We believe that society needs stories and film, television and the moving image bring them to life, helping us connect and understand each other better. A key tenet of the BFI’s mission is to establish, care for and develop archive and library collections reflecting the moving image history and heritage of the United Kingdom. We are the custodians of one of the world’s largest and most important collections of moving image formats, film publications and special collections. The BFI has many varied roles, from film restorers, programmers and policy-makers to those in our support services, such as marketing, finance, HR and IT. We support diversity and inclusion, and offer a wide variety of benefits. We support diversity and inclusion, and as an organisation recognise that we need to address under representation within our teams. As such we strongly welcome and encourage applicants from our under-represented groups, who identify as D/deaf and disabled and/or are Black and Global Majority. We guarantee a first interview to our under-represented groups who meet our minimum requirements.

https://www.bfi.org.uk/ (opens in new tab)

Company benefits

At the BFI you’ll enjoy benefits such as excellent support for working parents, 25 days annual leave (plus bank holidays and additional paid time off at Christmas), tickets to BFI festivals and events plus many others.

Disability Confident

A fair proportion of interviews for this apprenticeship will be offered to applicants with a disability or long-term health condition. This includes non-visible disabilities and conditions.

You can choose to be considered for an interview under the Disability Confident scheme. You’ll need to meet the essential requirements to be considered for an interview.

After this apprenticeship

Library Assistant, Archives Assistant, Assistant Curator, Assistant Cataloguer

Ask a question

The contact for this apprenticeship is: