Introduction

Discussions around museum and archival staff experiencing distress as a result of the material they work with has been increasing in recent years. In 2022, Nicola Laurent and Kristen Wright, Archivists working at the University of Melbourne carried out an international survey titled ‘Understanding the landscape of trauma and archives’. It showed a huge desire for guidance within the sector. My research, originally titled ‘When Archives Make You Feel’ is an initial start to fulfill this desire.

Although the majority of the research was done before I came to Wellcome, it’s a testament to the Collections Information team that I’ve been able to implement it so easily into my own practice and that it's been so well received.

Although I sincerely hope this work helps you work with distressing material safely, it’s also research and training that I hope will better equip your for the future, whether in different jobs within or beyond Wellcome.

This is, however, a work in progress and I invite you to keep adding to it. Particularly, if you feel anything is missing or you don't feel the tools speak to your experience. What helps each of us individually can be completely different but it's important we capture all of it so we can better educate the team and new staff joining Wellcome and the wider sector.

Terminology

Language used to talk about this issue initially centred around vicarious trauma. Vicarious, or secondhand, trauma are traumas that can be created through the scope of our work. This happens through being exposed to other people’s trauma.

In the following pages, you will learn the symptoms of vicarious trauma along with methods of working and tools to help prevent vicarious trauma from occurring.

This does not mean you will avoid feeling any emotion in the course of your work. Archives and collections are full of records, objects, books and items that are born out of a wide range of different types of trauma. A brief overview of some of the traumas that can both exist and be created through interacting with collections is covered in the 'Different types of trauma' page. This is important to know for yourself and for our users.

But trauma isn’t always the right word to use. Indeed, the survey mentioned earlier highlighted mixed responses to the use of the word ‘trauma’.

Working with upsetting or distressing material does not mean you will experience vicarious trauma but it is important to know that this is possible if you don't work with it safely.

Archives and collections, instead, can simply make you feel. They can make you feel upset, distressed, disgusted, horrified. They can make you laugh and they can make you cry. And that’s something that also needs to be acknowledged.

Why is this important?

. It’s a health and safety issue . It prevents desensitisation or Compassion Fatigue . It gives staff the ability to identify areas of work where there is an increase likelihood of experiencing distress or vicarious trauma and to advocate for more support . It encourages better education for students coming into the sector . It increases our understanding of our collections and our ability to represent them to our audiences authentically. . Improves and maintains our ability to collect during and after contemporary traumatic events

Hannah Nagle, Collections Information Officer (2026).