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Re: Response to Tom Eisinger re: Jobs Requiring CA



Michael is quite right.  My comments added nothing constructive to the
discussion.  My apologies to Lucinda and members of the list.  At the risk
of making matters worse, I will attempt to clarify a couple of points more
"civilly."  I had much of the same skepticism Lucinda has voiced about the
value of certification when the concept was first introduced more than a
decade ago, but I took the exam and joined the Academy of Certified
Archivists anyway, even though I had to borrow the money to do so.  I was
still not convinced that being certified would have any meaningful impact
professionally unless employers, not just other archivists, recognized it
as indicative of a desirable professional standard.  Since that time, I
have to say that I've been much impressed by the Academy's efforts.  My
observations have been that the C.A. is recognized as indicative of a
professional standard by employers even if it is not listed as a specific
job requirement.  Many times I've seen it listed as an alternative to a
requirement for an MLS.  As for recertification, I see nothing unreasonable
about that.  For one thing, it is not at all an onerous task if one is
professionally active.  And, certainly, there have been so many rapid
changes in the technology of our profession over the past ten years that
have caused not only changes in the way we do our jobs but also, to at
least some degree, changes in the definition of the job itself.  In my
view, recertification is simply a way recognizing that we have kept abreast
of our profession.  Now, having said that, buried in my previous "uncivil"
comments, I actually had two points to make.  First of all,  I thought that
this had been a good discussion, that Lucinda had made some very good
points and that they had also been very reasonably countered, but it seemed
to me that it was becoming redundant.  Although the great value of the
listserv is that it facilitates professional discussion and dialogue, which
is important, it also seems to me that the first measure of professionalism
is getting the job done.  More than once, I've marvelled at the sheer
amount of time spent during the work day thoroughly exhausting a topic or
making the same point over and over.
        You are wrong, Michael, in that I am not the first to have
displayed irritation.  However, I will follow your advice and try harder to
resist the urge to comment in the future, because you are right in that I
usually don't get the urge to comment until I am irritated.  Fortunately,
it doesn't happen too often (at least not on the list).  I hope everyone
has a productive day.

At 01:07 PM 1/9/2002 -0500, you wrote:
...and NOW the name-calling begins!  My advice: try, try, TRY to resist your
urges.  Lucinda has kept it civil, can't say the same for others.
Respectfully,
Michael
F. Michael Angelo
TJU Archivist

----- Original Message -----
From: "laura mclemore" <lmclemore@AUSTINC.EDU>
To: <ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU>
Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2002 1:06 PM
Subject: Re: Response to Tom Eisinger re: Jobs Requiring CA


> I usually successfully resist the urge to comment, but this discussion has
> gone on long enough that I just can't help wondering what kind of archival
> position Lucinda has that she has time to keep it going.   It is obviously
> that kind that does not require certification.
>
>
> "He who destroyes a good Booke, kills reason it selfe"
>
> Dr. Laura McLemore, CA
> College Archivist
> Austin College
> Suite 6L
> Sherman, Texas 75090
> fax 903-813-2297
> lmclemore@austinc.edu
>
> 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>
>

"He who destroyes a good Booke, kills reason it selfe"

Dr. Laura McLemore, CA
College Archivist
Austin College
Suite 6L
Sherman, Texas 75090
fax 903-813-2297
lmclemore@austinc.edu

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>