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Re: Certification Discussion



        Sharon,
        I agree that the profession should have a unified approach, at least
working consensus on some of these issues.  I think differences over
graduate education and Certification are evidence that a unified approach is
lacking.

        Surprisingly to me, people push graduate education as the single
hope/dream for the profession even though 1. you can have that and
certification 2. there is still no consensus within the profession on
graduate education 3. even with internal consensus, the Archival profession
would not control the education programs- colleges and universities do...

        Archival educators and Archivists can, and do no doubt do, influence
what happens at the college/university level but this is not the same as
control.

         What we need is a flexible, profession-wide standard which
recognizes the diverse educational and experiential backgrounds Archivists
come from in their search for professional recognition and development. It
would bridge the wide diversity of repositories we work in and job
responsibilities that we hold.  This should be an internal standard that
would have the benefit of being recognized/understandable/identifiable to
those outside the field.  Dedicated leadership from the ranks of the
profession would be great, along with the blessing of SAA.

        Hmmmm if only Archivists had an organization like that to support...

      Can You say ACA? sure you can...

Tom Heard, CA
AIG Archives-Executive Records
American International Group, Inc.
Suite 4301
70 Pine Street
New York, NY 10270

Phone: 212-770-7258
Fax: 212-770-8060

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Pullen, Sharon [SMTP:Sharon.Pullen@CO.SUFFOLK.NY.US]
> Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2001 10:59 AM
> To:   ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
> Subject:      Re: Certification Discussion
>
> Barbara,
>         To answer your question:
>         There are no degrees granted in Archival Studies in the USA, most
> programs are certificates appended to an MLS program.  SAA has a much
> smaller poole of members than ALA and therefore a smaller budget.  That
> has
> been the justification for the lack of an accreditation program that I've
> heard.
>         Accreditation would solve many concerns raised during this
> discussion, but of course, first institutions of higher learning must
> recognize that Archival Studies is a separate discipline.  Then separate
> degree programs might be instituted.
>         At this time, certification is the only Archives-specific
> credential
> available, even though it may not be a panacea. Frankly, it seems to me
> that
> what the Archives profession lacks is a unified approach to these
> questions.
>         Don't everybody jump on me at once, I can't type that fast : )
> Sharon A. Pullen, CA
> Suffolk County Archivist
> Historical Documents Library
> Office of the County Clerk
> 310 Center Drive
> Riverhead, NY 11901-3392
>
> Phone: 631-852-2015
> Email: Sharon.Pullen@co.suffolk.ny.us
>
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A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

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Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
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Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>