Dear Jackie et al,

I have a nice memory from a train I was on between Florence and Vienna a
few months before 9/11.

An American couple were in the same compartment and we struck up a
conversation.

When asked what I did I said I was an 'archivist'. They mistook my
Aussie / Kiwi accent or just misheard me and thought I had said
'activist'.

Possibly correct also but I agree that an additional explanation is
often called for.

Kind Regards

Jenny 

 

  Jenny Scott
Collection Specialist - South Australiana
State Library of South Australia
+61 8 8207-7344
0417-899-967
GPO Box 419, Adelaide SA 5001
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> 
www.slsa.sa.gov.au
<file:///C:\Documents%20and%20Settings\jennys\Application%20Data\Microso
ft\Signatures\www.slsa.sa.gov.au>  



 

________________________________

From: Archives & Archivists [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Jackie Shalberg
Sent: Tuesday, 20 June 2006 7:06 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Archives as a profession

 

I found saying "I'm an archivist," then following up with "I preserve
paper, film and photographs and make them accessible to the public,"
usually works pretty well. I am always surprised to find people who know
exactly what I do. Usually I find out they're either researchers,
history majors, museum and library staff or, interestingly enough,
sci-fi junkies such as myself who refer to obscure archivist references
in science fiction novels. 

 

Talking about professions and degrees, as you all may well know, I have
a Museum Studies masters degree, specializing in Archives Management. I
found that the museum studies courses really helped me understand the
preservation side of the archives and the additional duties I perform
working in a museum setting...but, no matter what degree people ask for
(MLS/MLIS/History...), it is really the archives-specific courses, and
the additional education received through internships, seminars,
conference and on-the-job training, that gave me the know-how to be good
archivist. It is too bad that we do not have a full Archives masters
program in the U.S.. Nonetheless, I am thankful for the many
opportunities I have been given for additional training, as they are
truly worthwhile. 

 

***The comments above are exclusive to the writer, and do not reflect
the opinions of the organization she works for. She wrote the above
message off the clock. ***

Jackie Shalberg 
Archivist / Assistant Historian 
National Model Aviation Museum

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List sponsored by the
Society of American Archivists, www.archivists.org. For the terms of
participation, please refer to
http://www.archivists.org/listservs/arch_listserv_terms.asp. 

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to [log in to unmask]
In body of message: SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname *or*: UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to [log in to unmask] 

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 <[log in to unmask]>

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List sponsored by the Society of American Archivists, www.archivists.org.
For the terms of participation, please refer to http://www.archivists.org/listservs/arch_listserv_terms.asp.

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to [log in to unmask]
      In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
                    *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to [log in to unmask]

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 <[log in to unmask]>