Case Study: Jennifer Aggleton on her internship experience with The British Library

Our Department of Education student Jennifer Aggleton delved into the publications industry, gaining new contacts for her future projects.

Jennifer reported back to us in her own words:

“For this internship at the British Library, I was working on the 21st Century British Comics collection, investigating ways of collecting and preserving digital comics. This involved outlining a definition of digital comics, creating a new special collection of webcomics, investigating preservation requirements for comics apps, and recommending a possible comics e-reader platform for the British Library to use.

I have a background in library studies, so I really wanted the opportunity to use some of my skills and experience in that area. In addition, the prestige of working for the British Library was appealing as I hope that it will help me find work once I complete my PhD. It was also an opportunity to work for a national institution and gain some insight into how that functioned.

The planned outcomes of my internship were:

• Report on issues surrounding the collection and preservation of digital comics
• Webcomics special collection
• Academic article
• Blog post
• Public event

All of the above aims were completed, which was finalized by the public event in February. In addition, I wrote 2 blog posts rather than one.

I have learned a huge amount over the last three months and have made some really useful contacts which I will be able to take forward. I have also gained some very tangible outcomes in terms of publications, and by taking on a role with high impact outcomes (such as the webcomic special collection) I hope to be able to demonstrate my capacity to make impact to future employers and funding bodies.

Whilst this internship does not directly inform my PhD, it has helped me to formulate ideas for postdoctoral projects that I would be interested in undertaking and has provided me with some useful contacts for making those projects happen.”

Jennifer Aggleton succesfully completed her internship with The British Library in September 2017