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Re: inquiry



I agree with Mr. Wood's impression that fewer archive positions require or
prefer a CA designation.  As Lara Friedman-Shedlov pointed out in her
response, without the necessary "experience" a person can receive only
"provisional" status.  I believe Lara came very close to the reason few
archive positions require the ACA designation--and I say close only in that
she omitted the key word "qualifying".  In addition to educational
requirements, the ACA requires a period of "qualifying experience".

The ACA handbook states: "Qualifying experience must be at the
professional, as distinguished from the non-professional or
paraprofessional, level.  The Academy will accept distinctions between
professional and non-professional positions made by employing institutions
as demonstration of the professional character of the position."

In short, the hiring institution's Human Resources department decides if
the person is a "professional".  In many government and educational
institutions the people who run the archives, special collections, or
historical societies are considered non-professionals or para-professionals
to meet budgetary constraints.  These people do the work of professionals
but they are hired as "staff" or "archive technicians" or "grant
specialists".  In other cases they are hired as "curator of manuscripts" or
"archivist" but with the position designated by their Human Resources
department as a "para-professional" position.

According to Academy rules, the positions these people hold and the tasks
they perform are not "professional" and therefore cannot count toward the
"qualifying experience" criteria.  This criteria directly impacts the
number of positions that require/prefer the ACA designation.  A hiring
institution can not ask for professional certification or licensing for a
"non-professional" position.  The folks that run university/state/county
Human Resources departments (and their affiliate legal departments) have
gotten too smart to post those kinds of position announcements.

Perhaps it is time the Academy ask archivists what constitutes "qualifying
experience" and get the "non-archive professionals" out of the loop.

As one of my colleagues (and I must say a true archive professional) said:
"To what degree is the ACA contributing to the non-professionalization of
the archives profession?"




At 11:52 AM 02/01/2000 -0500, you wrote:
>I won't argue with Mr. Wood's count, but the implication that
certification is
>therefore not useful for entry-level applicants is, in my opinion, not sound.
>As an employer, it is often difficult to differentiate among entry-level
>applicants, who by definition are not likely to have any experience.  I
find the
>ACA credential very useful for this reason.  It not only certifies that an
>entry-level applicant has a sound knowledge of basic archival principles, it
>demonstrates that the individual was willing to go the extra mile to prove
it.
>A demonstration of the professional seriousness and work ethic of a candidate
>without experience is clearly a favoring factor in deciding who we interview,
>and I know we are far from alone in our thinking.
>
>Regards,
>
>Marty Levitt
>
>"Wood, Thomas" wrote:
>
>> Charles Schultz wrote:
>>
>> "Increasing numbers of employers are seeking employees who have been
>> designated Certified Archivists through the exam offered by the Academy of
>> Certified Archivists.  Check out the ACA Web site at
Certifiedarchivists.org
>> for requirements."
>>
>> Oddly enough, I don't believe this is true. In fact, my impression is that
>> ACA certification is mentioned increasingly less often in archives job
>> postings. For example, there are currently 33 positions listed in the SAA
>> Employment Bulletin at
>> http://www.archivists.org/employment/index.html#lastmonth
>>
>> Of these 33, only two mention ACA certification; in one it is "preferred";
>> in another it is "desirable."
>>
>> Thomas J. Wood
>> Archivist
>> Archives/Special Collections LIB 144
>> University of Illinois at Springfield
>> P.O. Box 19243
>> Springfield IL 62794-9243
>> 217-206-6520 | wood@uis.edu | http://www.uis.edu/~lib-arch
>>
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>> Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>
>
>--
>******************************************************
>Martin L. Levitt, Ph.D.
>Associate Librarian for Administration
>American Philosophical Society &
>Associate Professor of History
>Temple University
>
>105 S. 5th Street
>Philadelphia, PA 19106-3386
>
>Voice direct:  (215) 440-3403
>Fax: (215) 440-3423
>E-mail Temple:  110253@vm.temple.edu
>E-mail APS:  mlevitt@amphilsoc.org
>APS home page:  http://www.amphilsoc.org
>Temple history faculty home page:  http://www.temple.edu/histdept/
>*******************************************************
>
>A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!
>
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>                    *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
>To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu
>
>Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
>     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html
>
>Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>
>

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

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      In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
                    *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu

Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html

Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>