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Re: Demand for archivists and records managers in the 21st century



I will hazzard a guess that both the records manager and the archivial profession will continue to grow at a modest pace in the next decade. As far as I know neither profession has ever grown at anything other than a modest pace.  I've not made any effort to keep count of the number of messages to the listserv that begin "I've just been named archivist at . . . . Please help me."  At least those folks now have the archives listserv to post those questions.  With the reapidly increasing quantity of records created and retained in an electronic format there will likely be greater growth is this new specialization, although mountains of paper records still exist which need the attention of records managers and archivists.  I have a general feeling that growth is mostly in the areas of academic, religious, and business or corporate archives in addition to electronic records.  Records managers may also be sought in those same specializations.  
I do not forsee a mass exodus from the professon of baby boomer archivists.  I suspect that most of us like what we are doing and expect to stay around for a while for a variety of reasons.  A few might feel that no one can really replace them.  Many probably receive great pleasure from their jobs and may feel they would be lost if they did not have their jobs to go to every day.  A few may stay around just to be thorns in the sides of other folks. Some of us may still have things we wish to accomplish and feel that the best way to do that is to continue to be employed so as to have the advantage of some financial support from their employer for those activities.
Hope these ramblings of one of those baby boomers will be of some use to you.
 

Charles R. Schultz, CA
Professor and Clements Archivist
Cushing Library
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX  77843-5000
c-schultz@tamu.edu
979-862-1555
FAX 979-845-1441

State-of-the-art automation will never beat the wastebasket 
when it comes to speeding up efficiency in the office.
Ann Landers Gem of the Day, July 27, 1994

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