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Quotes from "Training vs. Education"



Hi, gang,

Everyone who replied to me is quoted anonymously, since that seems to
be what the majority preferred.  All employers' names have been
omitted.

Each author's words are separated by three equals signs [===].  In no
particular order, then:

===

"The National Archives does [a workshop] but it is geared for govt
archivists.  Most ads for jobs these days at least say they
would like an MLS, which is a change for the old days.  Experience
would be more useful than course work."

===

"If you wish to get into archival work, I'd suggest a three-pronged
approach: education, training, and professional development.

First, find a good, basic intro to archives management online course
so that you cover the theory you may be missing.

Second, obtain an internship position in an archives if possible.
That would provide you with the hands-on skills you'll need.

Third, visit the website of the Society of American Archivists at
http://www.archivists.org/ and discover the benefits of belonging to
that professional association."

===

"I'd bank on the education more...
You have experience working as a librarian, which is valuable.  Once
you take a course, if you still don't get a job in archives right
away, you will have skills/theory that you learned in class to
perhaps convince a local archive to let you volunteer to do some more
advanced volunteer work, like arranging collections until you get a
paid position.  If you go right to volunteer work you may find that
you are relegated to more menial tasks that they wouldn't give to
someone without archives education."

===

"...So my suggestion would be to try to do both training and
education, but focus on the good practicums, first. You might want to
think about taking some history classes. Some archives (not many, but
some) prefer history background over library science. Public history
classes would be great."

===

"As far as your question- formal training vs. hands on I get the
impression that [education?] hands-on wins everytime.  However, what
I would do if I were you is volunteer in an archives environment like
you said and also consider becoming a certified archivist.  ALthough
I am not certified ... I am in contact with a lot of archivists and
the big thing seems to be this certification deal.  Here's the
webpage for that: http://www.certifiedarchivists.org/";

===

"Since an MLS is the entry-level requirement for most archival
positions, 'formal' training is not required.  However, you would
benefit immensely from participating in continuing education
opportunities and working part-time initially in an archival or
special collections setting.  I would recommend looking for an
opportunity at [local university], or network through [same local
university] for your part-time opportunity.  I worked for one year as
both an academic reference librarian and an archival assistant before
deciding to pursue archives work full-time.

You may also consider networking through a local professional
organization, perhaps even in Canada nearby, in order to obtain
information and possible job information.  These groups may offer
courses which would incur only a nominal fee.  If you were interested
in a more extensive course, the National Archives and the Western
Archives Institute both offer two-week intensive courses, however,
they are expensive.

Also, investigate the possibility of participating in a
correspondence course.  If you contact the Society of American
Archivists in Chicago:  http://www.archivists.org
they may be able to refer to recommended courses and have links to
other websites.

A general search on the web would derive much information as well:
http://www.nara.gov
http://www.loc.gov

...Most importantly, if you are the breadwinner, it is of no minor
importance that archives work usually pays less than librarianship.
Therefore, you would be more comfortable to be certain of your job
prospects in [your] area before venturing forth.  Ultimately, if you
cannot obtain a paying part-time time opportunity, perhaps [local
university] will consider partial course payment in return for your
volunteer efforts.  Ideally, combining education with experience is a
winner formula."

===

"A short cut around the education may be to take the two-week Modern
Archives Institute here at the National Archives. You can check it
out at <http://www.nara.gov/arch/profdev/mai.html>."

===

"I personally have done both. I worked for a long time in archives
until I went and got my MLS (the MLS taught me nothing about
archives, but was very useful in thinking about structure and
reference).

...So here is my answer/opinion. I was lucky enough to fall into
archives and get training from a large and knowledgable group of
archivists at the ______ University Special Collections and
University Archives. I have worked in other archives as well and what
I have found out is what really makes a difference when getting a job
later are the archivists you trained with and amount of various tasks
you learned."

===

"Let me ask you the same question in terms of a library position.
Would you prefer a librarian with training, or hands-on experience,
or both? As a person who works with and hires archivists, I have to
say I prefer both.

The reason: I want someone who has processed a collection or two, has

arranged and described, and produced a finding aid. I also want
someone who has had some formal training. I always try to provide our
interns with experiences doing all of the above. It greatly enhances
the formal training they are receiving."

===

"...in my case - know how, rather than any certification or degree
(though I already had a masters - but not in archival studies
or librarianship - just history), mattered the most."

===

Thanks to all who replied!

Best regards,

  -Cynthia

P.S. To reward those who read all the way to the bottom, a really bad
joke.  Maybe you've all heard it before...

Q.  Where did Noah keep the bees?
A.  In the ark-hives.



=====
*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:**:-,
"...every modern technology, from television to computers,
was invented by men & women whose education was conducted
almost exclusively with pen, paper, and book."
  --Neil Postman
Cynthia Van Ness, MLS, email: bettybarcode@yahoo.com
Shameless self-promotion: http://cynthia.is-online.net

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