Welcome: Alexander Barrington and Miten Mistry
EMBL’s new archivists highlight the importance of preserving past records to strengthen the organisation’s institutional future
The EMBL archive captures, preserves, and shares records from across EMBL’s sites. These holdings bear witness to the organisation’s scientific research and institutional activities, and to the history of European molecular biology as a whole.
Alexander Barrington and Miten Mistry are the new archiving team responsible for collecting core evidence of EMBL’s activities, knowledge, and expertise. Together, they will focus on developing the archive collection and service, while also improving records management functions.
Tell me about your professional background and how that defined your path to the EMBL Archive.
Alexander Barrington (AB): I started by studying classics, aiming to become a teacher. However, after a year of working in a school, I understood that teaching wasn’t for me. Subsequently, I completed a master’s degree in heritage management and worked in a variety of roles across heritage practice before finding my place in the archives field. In fact, I have just finished a 15-month role as a project archivist at EMBO, working to establish EMBO’s archives for their 60th anniversary. Hopefully, the fruits of that work will become public soon with an online catalogue. Now that that project is complete, I’m delighted to focus my efforts on the EMBL archive.
Miten Mistry (MM): I completed my undergraduate degree in chemistry at the University of Manchester, followed by a PhD in pre-clinical dentistry at King’s College London. Although I enjoyed aspects of my academic journey, I soon realised that a career in academia wasn’t the right path for me. While exploring job opportunities, I came across a digital archivist traineeship at the Bodleian Libraries, and the more I learned about archiving as a profession, the more I felt it was the right fit. During my time there, I gained foundational training in archiving through hands-on experience, exposure to the complexities of managing a large university archive, and a postgraduate diploma in digital curation. I’m looking forward to applying these concepts, along with the experience I gained in my previous job at the Wellcome Collection, to the EMBL archive.
What will your roles be focused on?
AB and MM: We will build on the work of previous EMBL archivists. Initially, the focus will be on evaluating the current state of the archive and records management function. This will include reaching out to key stakeholders to understand how the archive is perceived and where we can develop and strengthen relationships.
This means benchmarking the status of the archive and using insights to further develop EMBL’s archive and records management framework, policies, and guidance. We also aim to make more of our archival collection available and effectively communicate our mission to EMBL staff across all sites.
Why is your job important?
AB: An archive is a collection of core evidence of an organisation’s activities, knowledge, and expertise. Preserving EMBL’s institutional memory is essential.
Ensuring that this information is cared for, and enabling access to it is really important – an organisation with no past has no future!
MM: I agree with Alexander; an archive safeguards valuable cultural and historical information for future generations.
Effective records management ensures regulatory compliance, reduces legal risks, and creates more efficient working environments. Additionally, it can help organisations cut costs and reduce their environmental impact by reducing unnecessary storage and streamlining information retrieval.
While archiving and records management are often overlooked, their impact is significant and important for an organisation in terms of the records lifecycle and legal obligations.
What are the biggest challenges that archivists face?
AB: There’s always a lot of stuff that needs to be done in an archive, and innumerable things we could do, so deciding how to use our resources is really important. This is why it’s crucial to build consensus for the policies and frameworks that underpin our activities, and so that’s going to be a big part of what Miten and I work on over the next few years.
MM: Developing the collection in a sustainable way requires careful management of workload, environmental impact, and outreach. We must balance traditional archiving methods – such as paper records – with emerging trends like electronic lab notebooks and email preservation.
In today’s digital world, collecting and maintaining records is a challenging task. While paper records have been proven to last for centuries – even under poor conditions – our digital legacy faces unprecedented risks.
Can you tell us about some of the interesting things we can find in the EMBL archive?
AB and MM: One of the great things about the EMBL archive is its variety. We have photos going back to EMBL’s early days, conference videos, posters, important documents, and even a copy of Jacques Dubochet’s Nobel Prize.
We’re also currently processing material donated to the archive after our collection drive as part of last year’s 50th-anniversary celebrations, as well as a wealth of documents donated by former Director General Fotis Kafatos.
What are you looking forward to the most about being an archivist at EMBL?
AB: One of the most challenging aspects of my role at EMBO was being a one-man band, so I’m really looking forward to being part of a larger, close-knit team!
MM: I’m excited about the opportunity to work more closely with scientists. Having worked in a lab, I understand the demands on scientists’ time. At the same time, I’ve come to appreciate the value of good record-keeping and the role archives play in connecting us to our past, fostering both reflection and inspiration. I look forward to sharing this perspective and supporting teams.
What are your thoughts on working together as part of EMBL’s archive team?
AB and MM: To state the obvious – we can do more.
Building on the work of the previous archivists, we can acquire more materials, process a greater portion of the collection, reduce the backlog, and engage more actively with users – whether they are donors, researchers, internal or external colleagues seeking advice, or peers in the profession.
We can also expand our enquiries service, managing consultations and providing greater space and time for accessing the archives. Working in a team brings challenges and benefits; however, with our different academic backgrounds and areas of interest, we are hoping to complement one another!
A large part of your work involves reading and organising information. Are you also an organised person at home? Do you read books in your free time? If so, which book are you most likely to recommend?
AB: It is better not to comment on the organisation part…
I was a real bookworm as a kid, and I’ve been trying to get back into it. Most recently I’ve been reading The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber and David Wenigrow. The former is a classic novel of adventure and revenge, and the latter is a work of anthropology and history that challenges a lot of our preconceived notions about the development of human civilisation.
MM: I consider myself to be quite organised at home, which is one of the reasons I enjoy archiving – my mind naturally follows many of the same principles required for the profession.
I wasn’t always an avid reader and only developed a love for books later in life. I mostly read non-fiction, but I’m also a huge fan of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and anything by Alan Moore. If there’s one book I think everyone should read, it’s Natives by Akala – it truly changed the way I understand and discuss race, class, and British history. I only wish it had been around when I was growing up.
