Museums Partnership Reading (The MERL & Reading Museum)

Library Re-packaging Volunteer - Dairy Pamphlets project 

Location: 

The reading room at The Museum of English Rural Life (ground floor) - Monday afternoons from 2pm to 4pm for about 5-6 months. 

Why we want you:

We are looking for a volunteer to re-package leaflets and fragile pamphlets in conservation-grade Melinex wallets. The material is stored in magazine file boxes and it is important that they are kept in numerical order within each box. Each wallet will need to be labelled.

What you will be doing: 

- check through a pre-printed list and tick off each title found in the box (and put in number order, if not already so)

- print a label using Epsom spine labeller (provided)

- transfer each pamphlet in a wallet of appropriate size and stick respective label on its wallet

-Replace in box maintaining running number order as per list

You will be working alongside another volunteer taking part in the same project and will take turns carrying out the tasks listed above.

The pamphlets are part of the Dairy collection within the MERL library and were donated by the Milk Marketing Board and the National Institute for Research in Dairy. They were mostly issued throughout the 20^th century.

You will have the opportunity to gain an insight into the breadth of our MERL Dairy collection. There will also be a member of staff from the MERL/Special Collections team at hand, and other volunteers working on similar projects in the nearby desks.

Please be aware that when working on uncatalogued items you may discover some harmful content that you should highlight to the Project Supervisor. An example is an outdated racial term that was commonly used decades ago that would cause offence to modern researchers. As a result of uncovering this content, a ‘harmful content warning’ would then be placed on the file and the online catalogue to warn researchers.

This role will suit you if you are:

• Able to both work independently, but also enjoy being part of a small team
• Meticulous in your approach with good dexterity
• Maintain concentration during repetitive tasks
• Able to follow instructions and willing to seek help if necessary

 

What you will gain in return  

• Direct experience of handling fragile and rare library materials
• Gain skills in library conservation practices
• Work as part of a larger project in a team in a library/archive environment
• Training in all aspects of the role

 

Who will I report to? 

• Claudia Ricci, Metadata and Collection Management Librarian (Museums and Collections)

How much time will it take up? 

Approx. 2 hours on Monday afternoons

To apply

If you are able to use a computer or mobile device, please complete your volunteer registration form on our volunteering platform by 9am on Monday 2 February 2026. 

If you are using a mobile or tablet, once you click ‘Fill in an Application’, look out for the suggestion ‘It looks like you are on a mobile device. For a better experience on smart phones, go to Mobile Application Form’ and click on the link it suggests. 

*Please ensure you tick ‘Library Re-packaging Volunteer - Dairy Pamphlets project’  in your ‘Interests’ section under My profile, when registering* 

When you are happy with your application, please don’t forget to click SUBMIT – otherwise we will never receive your form!  

We often find that more volunteers apply for the role than we have vacancies. 
We expect to receive a lot of interest for this position. 
Please include key relevant information when answering the application form questions, as this is likely to be used if we need to shortlist from a larger group of applicants.  

A hard copy application form is available for those who are not confident in using computers or have limited digital access. Please email VolunteeringHQ@reading.ac.uk and we can send you a Word application form which can be completed digitally, or printed and handed in. 

Existing volunteers/ already registered your application 

If you are already registered to volunteer with Museums Partnership Reading, please log in to the volunteering platform, click on My Profile, select the ‘Interests’ section, and ensure you have ticked the box next to ‘Library Re-packaging Volunteer - Dairy Pamphlets project’  by 9am on Monday 2 February 2026. 

Matching to the role

If we think you are a match for this role, we will invite you to an informal discussion soon after the closing date.