Barker Postdoctoral Fellow in Colonial Deposit

Barker Postdoctoral Fellow in Colonial Deposit

Location:

St Pancras.

Contract:

Fixed term (12 months).

Hours:

Full time (36 hours). Grade:

B. Salary: £35,993 per annum.

Co-design a research project with the Library for a 12-month funded-fellowship, where you will be embedded in our expert curatorial and research teams. Thanks to a generous donation from Joanna and Graham Barker, these fellowships are designed to support and equip researchers, creatives and cultural professionals with the practical skills, professional insight and interdisciplinary experience needed to thrive in a rapidly changing knowledge landscape.

A key element of this opportunity is a structured pathway for Fellows to gain transferable, future‑facing skills, project‑ and line‑management experience, feel supported within our research community, and generate new expertise for the wider cultural and academic ecosystem.

We are inviting research proposals that develop the theme of ‘Colonial Deposit and our Newspaper Collection.’ This fellowship will be supervised by Dr Beth Gaskell, Lead Curator for News & Moving Image, and supported by the Research Development Team.

Legal deposit for books has existed in Britain in some form since 1662. However, national newspaper collecting followed a slightly different path, particularly Colonial deposit which saw different rules applied at different periods and in different geographic regions. This means that our collection of newspapers from Commonwealth countries, while significant, are varied in their completeness.

You will help widen knowledge and understanding of this area of our newspaper collection, identify unique material for future digitisation and gaps for acquisition, and highlight lesser‑known titled and stories for exhibition and outreach work.

To apply for this fellowship, you must meet the eligibility criteria outlined in the attached guidelines and refer to the detailed research theme description. Please attach a short, anonymised CV (max. 2 pages) and a research proposal (max. 2000 words), including:

• Aims and objectives – What are you hoping to achieve with your proposed work? Why is it important?
• How it aligns with the research theme – What are the potential direct and indirect benefits to the Fellow, the Library, and the wider cultural and heritage sector?
• Methodology, including indicative timescale and outputs – How are you going to deliver your proposed work? Please include an outline budget. You may wish to include a Gantt chart or other visual aid to support this section.
• Professional development and career aspirations.

Please refer to the attached document to ensure your application is completed in full.

Closing date: 23:59 on 15 July 2026.

Questions? Contact: