20 years a volunteer: “there’s always more to do!”
From eMentors to guest speakers, there are all kinds of volunteers here at The University of Nottingham. But none are quite like Sheila Leeds.
Sheila has been volunteering at the University for over 20 years – join us as we visit the Manuscripts and Special Collections department at our Kings Meadow Campus to find out what has kept her coming back for so many years.
“I have quite a connection with the University”
Sheila is one of five volunteers who help the department of Manuscripts and Special collections to catalogue historic documents. The team of volunteers is vital in cataloguing both the University’s own material, such as student record cards, and the many collections of local records, rare books and academic material that has been collected by the department for over 70 years, giving a unique insight into local history.
“We’ve recently been cataloguing some of the University’s own records, I’m working on record cards of students at the moment. I was also working on a book that contained all the degrees and I found my father! That added a lot of extra interest, I knew he was here then but it was nice to see his official degree.”
“We never know what we’re going to be doing next”
The work of volunteers like Sheila enables the University to look back into the past and remember the stories of those who came before us. As one project comes to a close, the air of anticipation as to what will be discovered next feeds the team’s curiosity.
“The archivists come up with different things which is nice as you get to work on all sorts. I’ve always had an interest in history, first of all in my own family history and then helping others discover their family history.
“I’m fascinated by what I’m looking at and the information that’s there, but then I get to move on to the next thing and become just as fascinated by that! The array of different documents is intriguing; how they were made and how they were kept, thank goodness so many survived!”
Sheila, along with four other volunteers for the Manuscripts and Special Collections department, are set to receive a Longstanding Volunteer award from the University this month.
Although Sheila has been volunteering for 20 years, she has no desire to stop now, “While we can, we will keep going. There’s always more to do and you just don’t realise, there’s so much here!”
Find your opportunity
From delving into history like Sheila, to inspiring the next generation of students as a guest speaker, there are plenty of exciting volunteering opportunities to get involved with.