Owen was soon instructing students in palaeography and diplomatic, and working on the diocesan records of Ely, recently deposited in the university library. She was formally appointed custodian of ecclesiastical archives in 1968 and keeper of the university archives in 1978. In 1969 she was elected a fellow of Wolfson College.[1] She was active in the British Records Association, and served as chairman of its Records Preservation Section, 1966–71; chairman of council, 1974–78; and vice-president, 1981–91.[2]