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Re: Certification



I have been contemplating this issue as well.  I was finishing up my MLS degree when certification was just beginning, but I was opposed to taking the exam.  My view point at the time was that I had just spent two years of my life earning a degree - working in jobs and internships preparing for my career as an archivist - and now I have to take an exam to prove I am a real archivist through certification.  I wasn't going to do that.   
 
I recently was asked to take the certification exam by my employer in an effort to standardize and raise the professional standard at our institution.  I agreed to take the exam for those reasons alone - because our institution does not require a masters degree - and I thought the standardization of certification would help the entire agency.  As an agency, we were able to conduct study sessions which I think were extremely helpful to everyone and provided an outlet for discussion about the operation of our archives.  Studying for the exam also cemented many things I had learned through my archives classes.  Since I wasn't a practicing archivist when I was in school, the ideas discussed in the literature were more abstract.  Reading the books now, as a professional, helped me realize the fundamental aspects of the work I do every day.  
 
Having taken the exam (and passed), I am still *mostly* opposed to it for several reasons.  I do not believe it really tests experience or knowledge.  I did worst on the sections in which I have - by far - the most experience and I did best on the section in which I have the least experience.  Having studied at least four hours a week for 8 months, I do not believe anything I learned directly helped me on the test.  While I value the things I learned or relearned in the time I spent studying, I don't think it helped me on the test at all.     
 
In a perfect world, I think it would be most meaningful for an archives organization to certify a series of masters degree programs - AND offer the test.  In this world, people could go to school in specific pre-approved archivally certified areas at certified schools - and archivists who have been in the field for a long time could also become certified through some kind of exam and some formula based on their years of experience, knowledge base, etc...  I worry that the archives community is focusing too much attention on this test, and not enough on formal education.  As it stands now, I feel that programs offering archival education classes are essential, but they are not receiving the respect they deserve.  The education can -- and is -- being replaced with a test.   I also worry that people who are hiring archivists (people who are not familiar with the field) rely only on certification rather than education and breadth and depth of experience.
 
Val
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Suzanne Durham [mailto:sudurham@VUU.EDU]
Sent: Tuesday, October 09, 2001 1:23 PM
To: ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
Subject: Certification

At the risk of opening old wounds, could I learn from this list what the arguments/opposition are against certification and the Academy of Certified Archivists? Maybe this list has hashed out the certification issue, but I'm fairly new to this list so bear with me.
 
I was just finishing graduate school when certification came into existence. I heard grumblings from the professionals around me then about what hoops these were to jump through. However, in the intervening years, I've never heard an argument against certification that will also address the need for a professional standard. In other words, ANYONE can call themselves an archivist. And our salaries and status in organizational charts usually reflect that.
 
Maybe a multiple choice test isn't the best measure of professional expertise, but it's way better than - nothing. I notice many job descriptions now asking for certification, especially among the private sector. In fact, I wonder if the majority seeking certification aren't from the private sector, that there is some dis-incentive for public sector archivists to pursue certification.
 
I'm a private sector archivist who was recently certified. I considered it a professional development activity, which is important in an academic setting. This is all meant to solicit other viewpoints from the profession. Please reply to the list.
 
 
Suzanne K. Durham, C.A.
Special Collections Librarian & University Archivist
L. Douglas Wilder Library
Virginia Union University
1500 N. Lombardy St.
Richmond VA 23220
 
Ph. 804/278-4124
Fx. 804/257-5818