What is meant by "employment in archives or a related field with archival duties"?

The petition defines qualifying professional employment as a professional archivist or archival educator actively exercising responsibility for or teaching about one or more of the following: the acquisition, preservation management, reference, or control of archival materials.

Qualifying professional employment should require an understanding of basic archival principles and the ability to apply them. Managing the work of archivists or administering an archival repository will be considered qualifying professional experience if performance requires substantial knowledge of archival principles and practices, including identification, preservation, or use of archival documents.

How is part-time employment or employment where archival activity is not the main focus (i.e. records managers, oral historians, special collection librarians with minimal archival collections) rated?

The certification process recognizes colleagues in related fields. However, it assumes archival certification must be justified by archival activity. Positions that include a mixture of archival and other professional duties will be pro-rated.

For example, a position consisting of 50% archival work held for one year would be equivalent to one-half year of professional archival employment; therefore, if this same position were held for the entire five years the total would be 20 points. Each year of full time archival employment is worth eight points.

How are consultants and archivists with independent employment rated?

Projects will be pro-rated on the same basis as other employment. The petition should describe each project-including its archival components-and total time spent.

Why is employment rated so heavily while the other sections have more components to make up the total points?

Employment enhances skills by putting them into practical use and creates opportunities to learn new techniques. Since practicing the archival profession is the main focus of most archivists it stands to reason that employment would be a significant point contributor.

Why are activities such as exhibit mounting, creating finding guides, and in-house training sessions not counted in other sections?

Unless these activities are done for an outside organization, they are considered part of the forty possible points credited in the employment section. If an exhibit, training session, finding guide, or other publication is done outside your job for a totally separate organization, then it can be counted in the appropriate sections. In this situation, the petition should include enough detail to explain why the activity is being considered separately from employment.

What type of courses count for recertification?

Formal classroom work relating to any of the domains of archival practice such as selection; arrangement and description; reference services and access; preservation and protection; outreach, advocacy and promotion of documentary collections and archival repositories; managing archival programs; and professional ethical and legal responsibilities.

What graduate degree programs are acceptable for recertification?

Any graduate degree conferred by an accredited institution of higher learning during the five years earns credit.

What types of workshops, seminars, and institutes count toward certification?

As with formal college course work, any continuing education opportunity dealing primarily with activities in the archival domains is acceptable for recertification.

What does "archival component" or "domain" mean?

Archival component and domain simply mean one or more of the basic archival activities: selection; arrangement and description; reference services and access; preservation and protection; outreach, advocacy and promotion of documentary collections and archival repositories; managing archival programs; and professional ethical and legal responsibilities.

Are sessions attended at annual meetings accepted as workshops, seminars, or institutes?

Each session is not counted individually, but attendance at annual meetings and conferences is credited in Section B-4 of the petition form. If a specific workshop, seminar or institute is given before, after or during an annual professional meeting or conference, it is separately credited in Section B-3.

Are sessions attended at a related organization meeting accepted for credit?

Yes, but only if the topic is related to an archival domain. For example, if the Association of Records Managers and Administrators (ARMA) sponsors a workshop on microfilming, digital imaging, preservation or similar topics for historical or permanent records then it would count toward certification. If the title of the meeting or workshop does not make the archival domain obvious, include a brief description so that reviewers can evaluate the validity of the offering for archival credit.

Does a session attended as a presenter or facilitator count in this section?

No. This session should only be counted once under Section C: Professional Participation and Outreach.

Section C: Participation (45 possible points)

How is "participation" different from "education" or "professional service"?

This section rewards members who present archival programs, workshops and seminars. Most archival educational opportunities focus on introductory or moderate skills. This section offers an opportunity for those at advanced levels to accrue points.

Can points counted in this section be counted in "Section B: Education"?

No, this section is designed to give points for enhancing the skills of others by sharing skills and knowledge. The education section is intended to reward points for enhancing ones own skills.

Section D: Professional Service (30 possible points)

What does "professional service" mean?

Professional service means giving something back to the archival profession by supporting the organizations that sponsor or provide continuing education, networking, and information.

Which organizations are accepted?

Certified Archivists should be members of at least one regional or national archival organization and preferably both. Memberships in related organizations are counted but should be in addition to professional archival societies. A suggested list includes but is not limited to national organizations such as:

* Association of Canadian Archivists (ACA)
* Australian Society of Archivists (ASA)
* National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators (NAGARA)
* Society of American Archivists (SAA)
* Society of Archivists (UK and Ireland)

and other international counterparts to ACA, ASA, SAA, etc.

Regional organizations such as:

* Association of Newfoundland and Labrador Archives (ANLA)
* Conference of Inter-Mountain Archivists (CIMA),
* Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference (MARAC),
* Midwestern Archivists Conference (MAC),
* Northwest Archivists (NWA),
* Society of Rocky Mountain Archivists (SRMA),
* Society of Southwest Archivists (SSA), etc.

Related organizations:

* Association of Records Managers and Administrators (ARMA)
* Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM), etc.

Section E: Writing, Publishing, Editing (30 possible points)

What is peer review?

Peer review is a process used by most scholarly publishing houses and professional journals to assess the worthiness of a manuscript for publication. It consists of others within the same profession reading the manuscript critically to provide the publisher with an informed opinion as to the value of the work. If an author is in doubt as to whether a publication is peer reviewed, call the publisher or the journal editorial offices.

What types of publications are accepted for credit?

Those related to archival theory and/or practice. Also acceptable are publications in a related area such as history or biography where reference to archives or archival documents is primary.

Why aren't finding guides considered publications?

Finding guides, in-house manuals, and exhibit publications are considered part of employment and are counted in the 40 points given in Section A.