Written by Molly Pearce
As part of the Bachelor of Information Studies, students like me have to undertake a Study Visit, visiting different institutions with school staff and colleagues. It’s an opportunity to peek behind the curtain, talk to leading industry professionals, and think about where you want to take your career. The school hosts several Study Visits a year, including to major domestic cities like Melbourne and Sydney, and even a virtual Study Visit. Starting last year, 2024 though, international Study Visits resumed. There would be a Study Visit to London! I was put on a waiting list at first, but I still managed to get in.
I was elated, but it was still a bit stressful managing to get enough money together. Students have to organise their own flights and help pay for the accommodation. However, I was able to receive an OS-HELP loan from the government, which is added onto HECS debt, and I received a Vice-Chancellor Travel Grant (Short Term).
Organising my own flight meant I was able to get to London before the program started. I ticked a few things off the bucket list; I visited Edinburgh, went up to Inverness to try and find the Lock Monster, and even visited my great-great grandfather’s village in Cornwall. Getting back to London on Monday, I checked into the school’s accommodation; St. Giles London Hotel. It’s a short walk from the Tottenham Court Road underground station, and there’s lots of good food around the area! Plus a Sainsbury’s literally across the road, if you want to stock up on snacks.
The next morning, I got up at 8:00 AM. I quickly got ready and ran down to the mezzanine to sample continental breakfast before heading into the hotel lobby. We were going to meet at 8:45 before leaving at 9:00, to walk to our first Study Visit site, University College London. This was all clearly communicated through a WhatsApp group. Most mornings began like this, with students meeting staff in the lobby to walk to the visit site or the tube station. Students were also welcome to make their own way to Study Visit sites.
The one exception would be Friday, when we went to Oxford. We had to get up rather early to board the train, but once we got there, I’d say it was one of the highlights. Oxford is such a beautiful, awe-inspiring city. We had an hour beforehand to go off and explore on our own, before meeting in front of the Weston Library, one of Oxford University’s 26 libraries!
We got to join their morning tea. They have one every Friday at their visiting scholars centre, with a guest speaker to show off discoveries from the Special Collections. We were able to hear from Saptarshi Mallick, of the University of North Bengal in India, about his work on William Carey, and how he found translations of Carey’s in Oxford that aren’t present back in India. Many other visiting scholars were present and discussing their work before and after the talk. After attending some lectures from staff, seeing the work of their preservation department and current exhibits (including one on Franz Kafka), we were given a quick tour of the “Old Bod”.
Showing my friend some photos, he said it reminded him of Inspector Morse. Turns out they actually filmed that there!
My other highlight would have to be visiting Westminster Cathedral. We got to speak to Dr Tony Trowles, the head librarian, (The Keeper of the Muniments was away in Italy!) and were privileged enough to actually see the muniments. We weren’t allowed to take any photos for security reasons… but we were allowed to take photos of the view from up where they’re stored!
Of course, this trip wasn’t just about taking photos. We got to hear from Dr Trowles about managing a rather archaic collection, from the team at the V&A’s National Art Library on managing their huge collection, from different preservationists on their work, from Oxford’s exhibitions team on how to engage the public, from the Kensington Central library on how they engage with diverse communities (including GRT), and from the British Library about how they’re still dealing with the consequences of their cyberattack.
It was an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I’m extremely grateful to the team CSUGlobal for helping organise it.
Charlie blog is a SSAF funded initiative.
