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ACADEMY OF CERTIFIED ARCHIVISTS
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Archival enterprise is a well-established profession.
A profession is characterized by such things as high educational requirements, a solid body of theoretical and practical knowledge, service orientation and dedication, relative autonomy and independence in work, independent judgment, strategies for meeting complex issues, and a code of ethics.
Archival professionals understand that they need to keep growing and learning themselves so that their programs can keep up with changes in the information field and evolving expectations from their parent institutions, users, and other constituents.
Archival work is too important, complex, and demanding to be handled satisfactorily by people who lack professional training and experience.
Hiring a professional archivist is a sound investment for the parent institution. |
Meeting Critical Institutional and Social Needs. by Bruce Dearstyne
They are employed in businesses, governments, universities, historical societies, libraries, museums, and other institutions that create and wish to maintain important records of their own, or that collect and maintain records for research use. The archival field originated many years ago. As early as 1936, the Society of American Archivists was formed to advance the exchange of information among archivists, and in recent years the Academy of Certified Archivists has developed as a credentialing agency for the profession. Archival enterprise is clearly a well-established profession. A profession is characterized by such things as high educational requirements, a solid body of theoretical and practical knowledge, service orientation and dedication, relative autonomy and independence in work, independent judgment, strategies for meeting complex issues, and a code of ethics. Professional archivists exhibit all of these traits and have commensurate responsibilities for making critical judgments and carrying out work of fundamental importance for ensuring the systematic identification, sound administration, and accessibility of important records. Archivists carry out some or all of the following functions:
A Dynamic Profession The archival profession is constantly changing, growing, and improving. Archival professionals understand that they need to keep growing and learning themselves so that their programs can keep up with changes in the information field and evolving expectations from their parent institutions, users, and other constituents. Some examples of recent or ongoing developments which are changing the way archival work is carried out are:
The Need for Professional Archivists Why hire a professional archivist? Archival work is too important, complex, and demanding to be handled satisfactorily by people who lack professional training and experience. In that sense, it is comparable to familiar professions such as teaching, medicine, and the law. Like these professionals, archivists possess highly developed skills based on education, experience, and a rich body of theory and practice. They are adept at asset management, communication, resource allocation, marketing. They are versatile, applying their professionals skills and insights in changing and challenging settings. Hiring a professional archivist is a sound investment for the parent institution. It is a cost-effective way of managing an irreplaceable information resource in historical records for either or both internal and external clients. Professional archivists are fundamental to business, government, and education, indeed, to all segments of society, because of:
Certified Archivist:
The ACA certifies people in the field who have at least a master’s degree and a year of appropriate archival experience. The certification process requires candidates to take a written examination with questions in seven "domains" or areas of archival practice:
Certified Archivists renew their certification periodically, a process that requires submission and review of evidence of their program responsibilities, professional work, publications, and other indicators that they are maintaining current knowledge of issues, needs, and professional developments in the field. More Information Several national and regional organizations serve as forums and information sources for professional archivists and can furnish information and guidance on qualification for these professionals. The two most prominent are: Society of American Archivists, 527 S. Wells Street, 5th floor, Chicago, IL 60607-3922. Phone: 312-922-0140. http://www.archivists.org. Academy of Certified Archivists, 48 Howard Street, Albany, NY 12207. Phone: 518-463-8644. http://www.certifiedarchivists.org. |
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The archival field is
dynamic and marked by variety and diversity; people reach the status of
professional archivist through many routes. In recent years, there has been
a growing expectation for at least a Masters’ Degree in archival science,
library or information science, history, or a closely related field. The
Society of American Archivists, the oldest and largest professional archival
association in the United States, shapes archival professionalism through
its publications, conferences, workshops, and canons of best practice. For
the past decade, however, the mark of distinction among archival
professionals has been the designation of Certified Archivist (CA), provided
by the Academy of Certified Archivists (ACA), a not-for-profit, voluntary,
independent accrediting agency. ACA originated in 1989 and traces its
origins to the growing modern need for sophisticated methods to manage a
burgeoning information infrastructure and to supply current information
needs that can be met satisfactorily only by use of the documentary
heritage.
