For anyone still following this-

I apologize in advance for sounding harsh, but I don't think it's reasonable
for anyone to expect to be considered for positions at prestigious
institutions these days if they don't meet the minimum requirements, in this
case we're talking about the MLIS.  In what other field would that be
acceptable? You wouldn't expect to be a law clerk for 12 years at a small
firm and suddenly become an attorney at a large, fancy firm without first
going through a JD program and passing the bar.  Degrees, certificates, and
formal education are tools that all professions use to separate the men from
the boys (please excuse the sexist phraseology- I am empassioned!)- they are
the emblems we hold up to others, to society, as a symbol of our worth and
to differentiate ourselves from the layperson.  The fields of librarianship
and archives management have both been experiencing increased
professionalization over the last couple of decades, and in that situation
anywhere, at any time, some practitioners are bound to caught in the middle
with many years of experience and no diploma; the same has happened
historically in medicine and teaching and many other professions.  But if
those of us who work with archival collections really want that respect and
those better salaries, we have to find a way to embrace formal education and
promote it and its standards throughout our field.  I'm talking about
archives programs couched in library schools here, which I think is the best
place for them to be.  School may not always be fun, it is certainly
expensive, but it helps us do our jobs better, it helps strengthen the
archival profession in the future.  I just can't see how that is a bad
thing, or why we would fight this.  Considering we live the age of Google,
if we don't embrace professionalization and standardization we could find
ourselves unable to counter the question, "You're an archivist? So what?" I
for one don't want to be left behind just because some things have changed-
what we do is too important.

Experience is undoubtedly valuable and you absolutely couldn't get along
without it, but formal education is the glue that binds us together as
professionals.  When two formally educated archivists face each other and
one blurts out "T. R. Schellenberg" or "macroappraisal," they know they are
speaking the same language, and have the same basic set of intellectual
tools that a degree provides.  I think that kind of commonality is only the
beginning stage of professionalization, that we may as well accept it,
adjust to it across the profession, and move on with the work ahead of us.
Viva la revolucion! Viva la educacion! and Viva la profession!

Cheers everybody.  Pat yourself on the back just a little, because we are
engaged in a noble and worthwhile effort.

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