What type of work do volunteers do?
Volunteers carry out a range of tasks including indexing archive documents; transcribing documents for exhibitions; providing support for special events such as launches and talks; conducting public tours of the archives; and cataloguing the archive’s library collection.

The aim of these projects is to help PROV provide public access to Victoria’s archives. The tasks are not core duties of staff and would not otherwise be achieved.

What types of work DON’T volunteers do?
Volunteers do not carry out the core duties of PROV staff, including working in the archive repository.

Who can volunteer?
Volunteers should have a strong interest in the services PROV provides to the public. The current group of around 77 volunteers includes those traditionally recruited from the genealogical and historical societies, as well as people who are independently involved in Australian history research. To reflect Victorian society, PROV has been diversifying the types of volunteers we recruit - in age, interest and cultural background. There is now a larger proportion of younger volunteers, men and even a sprinkling of international students.

In addition, PROV accepts appropriate volunteers referred by Centrelink. Similarly, PROV accepts volunteers who are engaged in tertiary or post tertiary education, but does not generally accept secondary school work placements as volunteers. All volunteers have a common interest in history.

What skills do I need?
The projects in the volunteer program are suited to people with an interest in Australian history and the ability to read eighteenth and nineteenth-century handwriting (or the interest to learn). Other useful skills include word processing, proofreading, data entry, scanning documents and photograph identification. Attention to detail is vital for much of the work, and research experience is welcomed.

Will I receive training?
Yes - training for new volunteers will include the basic principles of archival methodology (original order and provenance), an introduction to PROV, and work site training for each volunteer project which can include data processing, digitising, transcription of nineteenth century handwriting.

Can I volunteer on any day or time?
The volunteer program at the PROV operates from 8:30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday (except public holidays). Volunteers commit to a regular weekly roster.

How much time to I need to commit?
While there is no recommended standard of hours for volunteer work at PROV, it is important that volunteers are able to contribute regular blocks of time - three hours is a minimum block of time.

What happens if I can’t come in for any reason (for instance, if I’m sick or on holidays)?
It is expected that volunteers have other things going on in their life alongside volunteer commitments, and the program is flexible enough to accommodate these needs.

Where do the volunteers work?
Volunteers work at the Victorian Archive Centre at 99 Shiel Street, North Melbourne. The Archive Centre is close to public transport, and free off-street parking is available. Volunteers work in a dedicated Volunteer Room and have access to staff kitchen and dining facilities.

Page content courtesy of Harlinah Teoh (PROV volunteer)

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