Volunteer at Dorset History Centre

Working together

Volunteers help us to raise awareness of our work and improve access to our collections. We offer a range of roles across the Centre that need different levels of skills and experience.

Volunteering at Dorset History Centre might be for you if you have a passion for history; want to improve your knowledge and skills; or want to get involved in something worthwhile.

How do I volunteer?

Volunteers are recruited to specific projects. Volunteer positions will be advertised below as they become available. We do not accept speculative applications.

If you would like to get involved with any of these roles please contact us for further information.

Volunteer opportunities are also advertised in our newsletter and via our social media. 

Typical volunteering opportunities include:

• packaging documents for storage
• indexing and transcribing records
• research
• collecting oral histories
• supporting people with additional needs to access our volunteering opportunities
• promoting our services and events

We are committed to treating all volunteers and volunteer applicants equally and fairly. We accept volunteers based on their suitability for the role. For more information please see our Volunteer Policy.

Current volunteer opportunities

Support Volunteer

We are looking to add a new Support Volunteer to our volunteer team.

We want to make sure that everyone in the Dorset and BCP area can enjoy our records and apply to volunteer with us. We know that some people who would like to volunteer may face barriers due to learning difficulties, autism, ADHD, mental health issues, physical or sensory disabilities. We aim to tackle those barriers with the help of a Support Volunteer who does a great job of helping people to feel comfortable, remember instructions and produce great outcomes.

A Support Volunteer needs to have good literacy and organisational skills, and to be flexible and friendly. A background in education or social care is an advantage. Our Supported Volunteers tell us that time spent at Dorset History Centre has helped them to feel more confident and connected and some have moved on to new experiences in education or employment.

To find out more please get in touch at archives@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk

Young learners and work experience

We enjoy introducing young people to the work of the archive and we benefit from having tasks undertaken by short-term placements. We will introduce you to all aspects of our service and provide a varied experience. We hope that after spending time with us you will act as an informed advocate for archives.

Student Placements

Student placements:

• are suitable for undergraduate level or above
• are for up to 2 placements for up to four weeks each summer
• offer individual projects and tasks, as well as demonstrating all aspects of the service 
• are popular, to apply please contact our Community Engagement Officer

The 2024 placement has recently concluded. Details about the 2025 opportunity will be advertised early in 2025. 

Supported Placements

• suitable for young people referred by partner agencies who need extra support to access volunteering opportunities
• up to 3 placements per year
• we will work with each person individually to tailor a short project suited to their abilities and interests
• for more information or to make a referral contact our Community Engagement Officer

We cannot currently offer work experience opportunities to sixth form students.

Dorset Archives Trust

Dorset Archives Trust is an independent charitable body who support the work of Dorset History Centre. Dorset Archives Trust welcomes new volunteers to help organise events, distribute information and raise awareness of the work of the Trust.

For more information contact the Trustees at enquiries@dorsetarchivestrust.org.

Volunteer testimonials

"I have truly enjoyed every part of my work volunteering for the archives. It has been a therapeutic and exciting experience to be finding out the wonderful stories and communicating the knowledge and information to wider audience's, always looking for that special nugget." - Maria

"Volunteers have interviewed a wide range of people with connection to the Bankes estates and I transcribe them to make it easier for researchers to find information. The interviews offer a wonderful insight into social history during the last century. I do this role at home." - Sheila

"I love opening an old document and realising the last person to have read it might have lived hundreds of years ago. I also love the challenge of deciphering handwriting of many years ago and imagining the lives of the people who wrote these documents. You get a real flavour of the times in which they lived." - Angela

"I volunteer out of an interest in history, I really enjoy opening a new box of unsorted documents, with no idea what may be contained in it!" - Antony

"The role expanded, allowing greater involvement and self-determination - valuable work on a project I thought was important. Helped build my cv and may have led to employment offers. Being able to work remotely, first in Dorset and then away at uni." - Molly

"Gathering information for articles, delighted to see my posts on the DHC social media platforms, learning in more depth about activities and history in Dorset e.g. what shipping gin used to look like, learning how history has been preserved, not just in books but documents such as building plans and slides." - Toby

"Dorset History Centre have a great team that's been very friendly and amazing to work with." - Ben