Mineralogy Data Volunteer

National Museums Scotland; City of Edinburgh; On-site; GBP 10,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A prestigious museum organization in Edinburgh is seeking a committed volunteer to assist with their mineral and rock collection. This role involves reviewing, annotating, and updating collection records, making it perfect for those interested in the museum sector and looking to contribute to a long-term project. Ideally, candidates should be organized, have good IT skills, and pay attention to detail.

Benefits

Learn about museum work

Develop valuable skills

Meet like-minded individuals

Qualifications

• Curious and motivated individual.
• Willing to contribute to a long-term project.
• Ability to decipher handwritten references.

Responsibilities

• Review and update records of mineral and rock collections.
• Annotate, transcribe, and verify historical registers.
• Maintain and keep accurate spreadsheet records.

Skills

Interest in minerals and rocks

Organizational skills

Competent IT skills

Attention to detail

Job description

Overview

Mineralogy Data Volunteer | Ideally one day per week

National Museums Scotland is currently looking for a volunteer to help with our Mineral and Rock Collection at our National Museums Collection Centre, Granton, Edinburgh. We are looking for a curious, organised and motivated individual to join our Earth Systems team.

Role

The volunteer will undertake careful review of the mineral and rock collection’s annotated registers, annotating, transcribing, verifying and updating records of who has used which specimens for what purposes. This will help us to increase access to, and our understanding of, the collection for researchers and curators.

What’s involved

• Annotating, transcribing and verifying historical registers
• Deciphering handwritten references
• Updating older entries to a modern citation format
• Keeping spreadsheet records

Who this role may suit

• Someone who has an interest in minerals and rocks
• Someone who likes to organise information
• Someone who is looking to contribute to a large, long-term project
• Someone who has competent IT skills and a good eye for detail

When is it?

Volunteering hours are negotiable. Ideally, we are hoping our successful volunteer would be able to provide one day per week (Monday to Friday, hours agreed with the line manager). This is an open-ended opportunity so would suit someone looking to be involved long term.

By getting involved you could

• Learn more about National Museums Scotland and our work
• Develop valuable skills and experiences within the museum sector
• Enjoy doing something you like whilst meeting new, like-minded people

We have attached a Role Description on our recruitment portal for more information.

Volunteering is a fantastic way for people to engage with our collections and for us to engage with our communities. If you think this is something you would enjoy and can lend some of your time to, we would love to hear from you.

Please note if we receive a large number of applications we may close this opportunity before the scheduled closing date.