[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: A rose by any other name? I don't think so!



Well, there's a basic difference; plop a librarian into any library and they
can probably do the same exact thing, though I grant that you'd have to put
a special librarian in the same sort of library (ie a medical librarian in a
different medical library).  An archivist will always be faced with
different challenges, if only because no two collections are the same and
have the same needs.

The librarians at my last job (a highly competent group, I must say) would
probably have done the same thing for a steel company as they did for a
publishing company; the same search engines would have been used, even if
the nature of the searches was different.  I, on the other hand, have had to
revise many things about my approach from the publishing company because the
Health System's archives are a wholly different animal.  The records I had
at McGraw-Hill existed there only, and had particular needs.  Likewise the
System's records exist here only, and I can't do quite the same thing.

I would assume that a librarian switching jobs, once showed where the
catalogs, computers, and whatnot are, could probably be as efficient at
his/her new job without having to learn the collections all over again.
Some things are universal in libraries that are simply not in archives; my
experience has always been that I need to get a feel for a collection before
I feel comfortable with it, and hence the learning curve for an archivist is
steeper than that of a librarian.

Other thoughts?

DS

______________________________________
Daniel Sokolow, Archives Coordinator
David Taylor Archives
North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System
155 Community Drive
Great Neck, NY 11021
mailto:dsokolow@nshs.edu

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Hamson, Susan [SMTP:susanh@CHEMHERITAGE.ORG]
> Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2001 10:58 AM
> To:   ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
> Subject:      A rose by any other name?  I don't think so!
>
> Hi all.
>
> I thought I'd toss this one out to you since we've been without a
> discussion thread for a bit and since I'm completely peeved at the moment.
>
> I had an experience yesterday when someone--uninformed about libraries and
> archives--asked me if archivists were a subset of librarians.  As I
> answered, "No, they are different."  I was countered by two librarians who
> chimed in and offered, "No, they're essentially the same thing."  As we
> were in a meeting, I was unable to call these individuals on the comment,
> but . . .
>
> My question for my fellow archivists out there is this:  Do you see
> yourself distinct from librarians?  And (I'm certainly assuming so) how
> would you counter that comment?
>
> Susan
> ---
> Susan Hamson
> Archivist <?xml:namespace prefix = o />
>
> Othmer Library of Chemical History
> Chemical Heritage Foundation
> 315 Chestnut Street
> Philadelphia, PA  19106-2702
> Voice: 215-925-2222
> Fax: 215-925-6195
>
> The views expressed in this message are those of the author and not
> necessarily those of the Chemical Heritage Foundation.

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
      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>