Archivist

As Richard Pearce-Moses wrote:

"Archivists keep records that have enduring value as reliable memories of the past, and they help people find and understand the information they need in those records."[1]

Determining what records have enduring value can be challenging. Archivists must also select records valuable enough to justify the costs of storage and preservation, plus the labor-intensive expenses of arrangement, description, and reference service.[2] The theory and scholarly work underpinning archives practices is called archival science.

The most common related occupations are librarians, museum curators, and records managers. The archivist occupation is distinct from that of librarian. The two occupations have separate courses of training, adhere to separate and distinct principles, and are represented by separate professional organizations. In general, the librarian tends to deal with published media (where the metadata, such as author, title, and date of publication, may be readily apparent and can be presented in standardized form), whereas the archivist deals with unpublished media (which has different challenges such as the metadata not always being immediately apparent, containing complications and variety, and more likely to depend on provenance).

In addition, because archival records are frequently unique, some archivists may be as much concerned with the preservation and custody of the information carrier (i.e. the physical document) as with its informational content. In this regard, some would argue the archivist may have more in common with the museum curator than with the librarian.

The occupation of archivist is also frequently distinguished from that of records manager, although in this case the distinction is less absolute: the archivist is predominantly concerned with records deemed worthy of permanent preservation, whereas the records manager is more concerned with records of current administrative importance.[3] Because of this, the position duties for each occupation can easily intertwine, particularly if both occupations are present at an institution.

Archivists' duties include acquiring and appraising new collections, arranging and describing records, providing reference service, and preserving materials. In arranging records, archivists apply two important principles: provenance and original order. Provenance refers to the creation of records and keeping different records separate in order to maintain context. Many entities create records, including governments, businesses, universities, and individuals. Original order is applied by keeping records in their order as established and maintained by the creator(s). Both provenance and original order are closely related to the concept of respect des fonds, which states that records from one corporate body should not be mixed with records from another.

There are two aspects to arrangement: intellectual and physical. Both aspects follow the principle of original order. Archivists process the records physically by placing them in acid-free folders and boxes to ensure their long-term survival. They also process the records intellectually, by determining what the records consist of, how they are organized, and what, if any, finding aids need to be created. Finding aids can be box lists or descriptive inventories, or indexes. Even if the original arrangement is unclear or unhelpful in terms of accessing the collection, it is rarely rearranged to something that makes more sense. This is because preserving the original order shows how the creator of the records functioned, why the records were created, and how they went about arranging them. Moreover, the provenance and authenticity of the records may be lost.[4] However, original order is not always the best way to maintain some collections and archivists must use their own experience and current best practices to determine the correct way to preserve collections of mixed media or those lacking a clear original arrangement.[5]

Archivists' work encompasses a range of ethical decisions that may be thought of as falling into three broad and intertwined areas: legal requirements; professional standards; and accountability to society in selecting and preserving documentary materials that serve as a primary source of knowledge, and influence collective memory and identity.[6] In negotiating the ethical conflicts that arise in their work, archivists are guided by codes of ethics.[7] The Society of American Archivists first adopted a code of ethics in 1980;[8] the International Council on Archives adopted one in 1996.[9]

Alongside their work in arranging and caring for collections, archivists assist users in interpreting materials and answering inquiries. This reference work can be a small part of an archivist's job in a smaller organization, or consist of most of their occupation in a larger archive where specific roles (such as processing archivist and reference archivist) may be delineated.[10]

Archivists work for a variety of organizations, including government agencies, local authorities, museums, hospitals, historical societies, businesses, charities, corporations, colleges and universities, national parks and historic sites, and any institution whose records may potentially be valuable to researchers, exhibitors, genealogists, or others. They can also work on the collections of a large family or even of an individual.

Archivists are often educators as well; it is not unusual for an archivist employed at a university or college to lecture in a subject related to their collection. Archivists employed at cultural institutions or for local government frequently design educational or outreach programs to further the ability of archive users to understand and access information in their collections. This might include such varied activities as exhibitions, promotional events, community engagement, or even media coverage.[11]

The advent of Encoded Archival Description (EAD), along with increasing demand for materials to be made available online, has required archivists to become more tech-savvy in the past decade. Many archivists are now acquiring basic XML skills in order to make their finding aids available to researchers online.[12] A direct effect of this is rudimentary programming frequently being taught in archival and library science programs at universities.

Because of the varied nature of the job within different organizations and work environments, archivists need to have a wide range of skills:

• Those who work in reference and access-oriented positions should have good customer services skills, to help patrons with their research.
• A basic knowledge of conservation is needed to help extend the life of cultural artifacts. Many types of media (such as photographs, acidic papers, and unstable copy processes) can deteriorate if not stored and maintained properly.[13]
• Although many archival collections consist solely of paper records, increasingly archivists must confront the new challenges posed by the preservation of electronic records, so they need to be forward-looking and technologically proficient.[14]

The educational preparation for archivists varies from country to country.

Many archivists belong to a professional organization, such as the Society of American Archivists, the Association of Canadian Archivists, the Archives and Records Association (UK/Ireland), the Colombian College of Archivists - CCA, and the Australian Society of Archivists, as well as any number of local or regional associations. These organizations often provide ongoing educational opportunities to their members and other interested practitioners. In addition to formal degrees and or apprenticeships, many archivists take part in continuing education opportunities as available through professional associations and library school programs. New discoveries in the fields of media preservation and emerging technologies require continuing education as part of an archivist's job in order to stay current in the profession.[23]

The first predecessors of archival science in the West are Jacob von Rammingen's manuals of 1571.[24] and Baldassare Bonifacio's De Archivis libris singularis of 1632.[25]

In 1883 French archivist Gabriel Richou published the first Western text on archival theory, entitled Traité théorique et pratique des archives publiques (Treaty of Theory and Practice of the Public Archives), in which he systematized the archival theory of the respect des fonds, first published by Natalis de Wailly in 1841.[26]

In 1898, three Dutch archivists, Samuel Muller, Johan Feith, and Robert Fruin, published the Handleiding voor het ordenen en beschrijven van archieven (Manual for the Arrangement and Description of Archives). Produced for the Dutch Association of Archivists, it set out one hundred rules for archivists to base their work around. Notably, within these rules, the principle of preserving provenance and original order was first argued for as an essential trait of archival arrangement and description.[27]

The next major text was the Manual of Archive Administration published in 1922 by Hilary Jenkinson, then employed at the British Public Record Office: a revised edition appeared in 1937. In this work, Jenkinson states that archives are evidence and that the moral and physical defence of this evidential value is the central tenet of archival work. He further outlines his ideas of what an archive should be and how it should operate.

In 1956, T. R. Schellenberg, known as the "Father of American Archival Appraisal",[27] published Modern Archives. Schellenberg's work was intended to be an academic textbook defining archival methodology and giving archivists specific technical instruction on workflow and arrangement. Moving away from Jenkinson's organic and passive approach to archival acquisition, where the administrator decided what was kept and what was destroyed, Schellenberg argued for a more active approach by archivists to appraisal. His primary (administrative) and secondary (research) value model for the management and appraisal of records and archives allowed government archivists greater control over the influx of material that they faced after the Second World War. As a result of the widespread adoption of Schellenberg's methods, especially in the United States of America, modern Records Management as a separate but related discipline was born.[28]

In 1972, Ernst Posner published Archives in the Ancient World. Posner's work emphasized that archives were not new inventions, but had existed in many different societies throughout recorded history.

In 1975, essays by Margaret Cross Norton were collected under the title of Norton on Archives: The Writings of Margaret Cross Norton on Archival and Records Management. Norton was one of the founders of the Society of American Archivists, and wrote essays based on her decades of experience working in the Illinois State Archives.

Archivists, like librarians, are taking advantage of Web 2.0 technologies such as blogs, wikis, as well as open access and open source philosophies. Archives 2.0, by extension, is more of a participatory online repository than a true-to-form established entity, although it has fallen considerably behind Web 2.0 in overall acceptance by archivists themselves.[29] While Archives 2.0 may refer to implementing new technologies, it is also a way of engaging with archives in an effort to promote openness and flexibility of archival materials. This can be achieved through community participation in archives, archivists actively engaging with their collections, and promoting archival benefits in the modern world.[30]

Kate Theimer writes that in order to understand Archives 2.0, it must be compared against Archives 1.0. She asserts that her representation of Archives 1.0 is by no means exhaustive or fully comprehensive of the breadth of archival experience.[30] The following is a list of contrasts between 1.0 and 2.0.

• "Open, not closed;
• Transparent, not opaque;
• User centered, not record centered;
• Facilitator, not gatekeeper;
• Attracting new users, not relying on users to find them;
• Shared standards, not localized practice;
• Metrics and measurement, not 'unmeasurable' results;
• Iterative products, not 'perfect' products;
• Innovation and flexibility, not adhering to tradition;
• Technology savvy, not technology phobic;
• Value doing, not knowing;
• Confident about lobbying for resources, not hesitant beggars."[30]

The technological tools of Archives 2.0 provide the foundational platforms to help the change from 1.0 to 2.0. When working in an archives that is dedicated to upholding 2.0 standards, the focus has shifted onto the user experience at an archives:[30] community use, or research and reference help.

• Archival science
• List of archives
• List of archivists
• Howard Henry Peckham and John Clement Fitzpatrick (archivists of early American history)
• The Archivist, novel

Media related to Archivists at Wikimedia Commons

• Society of American Archivists website