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Re: Your intemperate attack on the Academy of Certified Archivists



10/23/01

Hi Patrick--
      
        Wow, are we having a bad day?  It' s always very telling when someone uses the * formal* salutation (sarcasticly?) on our informal listserv................watch out!

        First of all, your charge that my straight-forward comments and opinions, because they are different than yours, evidently, are gratuitous, uninformed and insulting.  Patrick, I also participated in many of the early discussions regarding certification in the mid-1980s-- through Archivists Roundtable of Metro NYC meetings, MARAC sessions, and SAA conference programs and discussions, and have not varied in my belief that we should not utilize individual exams to take the place of archival education standards.  As we all  know,  from our own experience working with different individuals in an archives, scoring well on an archives exam does not automatically equal archives competence.  

        I will say again what I have always said:  I do not think that SAA should certify individual archivists, but should certify archival education programs.  Just because certifying programs is more difficult, does not let our profession off the hook on the issue.  For me to express my reasoned objections to certification does not constitute a "rant" in my opinion.  I am puzzled by your comment that I contributed nothing important to the discussion and should be ashamed of my ignorance.  I got *many* personal emails thanking me for my comments, because the individuals didn't want to go public with their agreement.

        Re: unionization of archivists-- I wrote several research papers in my MLS program in the late 1970s related to comparable worth/equal pay, the need to organize library and archives professionals/workers, and unionization of professional workers. In all of our archives profession-wide discussions, I don't ever remember the argument that certification would fulfill the same needs as union representation.  Individual certification is not equivalent to unionization of a group of archivists.

        Most of the objections to the certification exam that I remember were practical-- how would a certification designation help an individual with jobs, salaries and status?  Most everyone I discussed this with in NYC area felt that the exam was not useful in providing any additional credentials for hiring or status.  It was seen as an empty symbol of  having memorized and passed a terminology familiarity exam, not of any particular academic competence.  Unfortunately for ACA, that's still the impression by hundreds of professional archivists, even today.

         I was interested in your comments Patrick, but maybe next time you could be less insulting and defensive.  Everyone is entitled to their own opinion on this--perhaps the emperor (has no clothes) does in fact walk naked (progressively!) down the archives repository aisle when it comes to certification?   Take care,   Lucinda
          


ntemperate = lack of moderation, not temperate,  criticism esp. given to excessive use of intoxicating liquors.  Reread my commentary and opinion on the certification issue and frankly, I don't think that term applies. I was very deliberate and reasoned and quite ionDoesn't seem to apply here, but anyway....