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Re: Certification



On Wed, 10 Oct 2001, Alex Rankin wrote:

> A convincing argument.  I wonder if anyone has seen a benefit,
> outside of the prestige of Professionalism, to retaking the exam.
> It seems to me that once an Archivist has passed the exam, and
> have been working in the field, why would they need to retake the
> test?  Is it to "reprove" to the professional world that they
> still know what they are doing?

When this topic came up, I promised myself I would stay out of it, but
here goes...

Having read the defense of "CA" by Charles Schultz, I'll say that he
makes a number of excellent points, as have recent writers on the
other side of the fence.

I was one of those who took the exam in the early 1990s (whatever year
SAA met in Montreal).  I did it because my supervisor suggested it
might be a good idea, and I had no firm convictions one way or the
other at that time.  So I walked into the exam room having done no
studying at all, and was surprised to find most of my fellow
exam-takers quizzing each other or cramming in the last few minutes
before the exam.  I thought I might be in trouble but I was the first
to leave the room and I passed easily (and I don't claim to be the
foremost authority on this profession).  My own formal training
involved a couple of archives-specific courses among a general library
school program, followed by "on the job training."

When my five years were up (at that time you had to pay the full fee
up front as soon as you passed the exam) and I was presented with a
renewal bill, I spent some time thinking about what certification had
meant to me since I had been judged "certifiable."  There is something
noble about assisting an effort such as certification get off the
ground even though the individual might derive no direct benefit in
the early years, as Charles Schultz says.  But I ultimately chose to
allow my certification to expire because I could not see myself
continuing to pay into a program that bore no tangible benefits to me
personally.

It seems logical that an employer, even one that doesn't know archives
from anchovies, might give some credence to a certification program.
In my own case, I could see no benefit over the past five years, and
little prospect that I ever would benefit from certification.  In my
academic library, the MLS is the "union card" for admission to
professional status, regardless of what other degrees or certificates
you possess.  That's not going to change.  While I haven't been
scouring the job ads, I, like an earlier writer, haven't noticed a
preponderance of ads requiring or preferring a certified archivist.

I would say that certification is an individual choice.  If you're in
the job market, or expect to be, or if your current employer urges you
to take the exam, then that might be the right thing to do.  Maybe
those who hung in there from the beginning will be vindicated and will
still be around to see certification do wonderful things for this
profession.  But altruism on behalf of one's profession only goes so
far (especially when the dues aren't tax-deductible).

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

James Stimpert                       ** PLEASE USE THE FOLLOWING:
Archives (Arts and Sciences)         E-mail:    stimpert@jhu.edu
MSE Library
Johns Hopkins University             Voice:     (410) 516-8323
3400 North Charles Street
Baltimore, MD  21218                 Fax:       (410) 516-7202

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