As graduation was rolling around, I began to speak to department staff about the potential of doing a Master’s degree and scoping my options, just as I was doing that, the Library and Archive studies MA was in the first stages of being constructed. The teaching on this course is the best I have ever received, which is no easy feat. The teaching is where this MA strays from the norm which you may be used to, as almost every session will have a working professional guest speaker, spanning every possible inch of the industry, from digitisation and imaging, to rare book and manuscript care. Having access to these professionals with unique experiences and skills has been invaluable in the studying of the course, as all the case reading and theory is pushed to more than that, as you are surrounded by people who bring it all to life. 

I think the word which summarises this MA the most is “alive”, because at every step there is emphasis on the real-world applications and complications of library and archive work. The aspect of this which surprised me the most was the semester assessment structure, as I was used to, and preparing myself for a tiring winter break of writing monstrous research essays. Instead of opting for this conventional method, the assessment structure takes a much more modern and applicable form. Assignments are fortnightly for each module and take the shape of industry documents for specific cases studies and scenarios, for example creating a finding aid for the Clarke Collection in Trinity College or creating EDI assessment form. This means the assessment work load is constant but spread out, resulting in a consistent, wide stream of work, rather than a small, deep well.  

In terms of my first semester modules, as a full-time student I had no choice of optional modules, as all my content was mandatory, along with all the other full-time students. While this may seem limiting or similar to undergraduate programmes, I would stress that these modules are anything but simplistic. The two core modules of first semester lay the foundational knowledge and skills you need to move forward and work within the topics you find will study in this programme.  

A typical week of the first semester for me is structured around my two content days in the John Rylands Library, Tuesday and Friday, which are full of content. The rest of my week is built around these two days, so every day will include reading and research, balanced with hobbies and socialising. Most weeks I will endeavour to visit one of the seemingly infinite amount of local connected cultural practice institute, whether it is a gallery, museum, library or archive, sometimes just as a member of the public and sometimes to steal the time of a willing professional to pick their brains about the idiosyncratic strengths and complications of their particular institution. Aside from research, reading and visiting, my time dedicated to my studies (which is by no means all my time) is spent building the assignment documents and preparing myself for next semesters professional placement in my host archive. 

Written by Benjamin Walker, a Library and Archive Studies MA student

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