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Re: "Underpaid...and not Well Understood"



For the survival of our collections -- for the survival of our jobs.

     Bill (who spent the first 18 years of his life in College Station)
     Hooper
     TIME Inc. Archives


______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re: "Underpaid...and not Well Understood"
Author:  "Archives & Archivists" <ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU> at TIME_INC
Date:    01/24/2001 5:00 PM





Seems to me that this needs some more time in the think tank.  If we are
all introverts and get our energy from within rather than from other
people, then why is it that we are seeking stature and recognition from
others?

Donald H. Dyal, PhD, CA
Kelsey Professor and Director
Cushing Library
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX 77843-5000
(979) 845 1951
(979) 845 1441 FAX
d-dyal@tamu.edu

>>> CSCHULTZ@LIB-GW.TAMU.EDU 01/24/01 02:40PM >>>
An inordinately large percentage of archivists are introverts.  That means
that they get their energy from within rather than from other people.  They
are most content when they work alone and opposed to extraverts, who seem
to be unable to do anything without a crowd around.  An indordinately large
percentage of librarians are also introverts, but perhaps more of them get
around their natural tendency to desire working alone.
What has always been a problem for me to understand is this.  If the
archivial profession and archivists as individuals are so little inown and
misunderstood, how is it that individuals, who are in some respects idealy
suited to be archivists in that they like working alone, actually become
archivists?  Most people never encounter an archivist until after the age
at which many people decide what it is they want to do in life.
It seems to me that the profession needs to clone the David Gracy (known
affectionately among some of us around here as The Rev. Dr. Gracy) about a
thousand times and give those clones the full responsibility on setting the
world straight on what archivists do and how important that work is.  Only
then will we have a chance of achieving the understanding and stature that
we all seek.  Don't see that happening very soon, however.


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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