Many of us are both the L word and the A word.  My degree is an MLIS (Master
of Library and Information Science), with training in what was called an
"archives track" at the time.  I've since taken courses in "library
science," "museum studies," classes applicable to archives (such as EAD),
and workshops (etc.) applicable to both libraries and archives (disaster
management).  I've been to conferences for SAA, ALA, and AMIA (Association
of Moving Image Archivists).  Would have attended a museum association
conference but for budgetary considerations where I was working as a museum
curator/archivist.  Like many people, I've worn and am wearing many hats.

Currently my title is "Archives/Special Collections Librarian."  There is a
trend toward combining archives and special collections that is perhaps
based on cost-cutting, but that does reflect the fact that many times it is
difficult to tell what exactly is special collections and what exactly is an
archives, especially when it comes to dividing up a single donation (if
indeed division is allowed).  Most archives contain books and "realia"
(often defined as 3-dimensional objects, as if paper were one-dimensional).
I distinctly remember passing a shovel in the Stanford Special
Collections/Archives storage area while a student assistant there.

No one has yet mentioned the "M" word.  After taking a few courses in museum
studies, I wish that archivists had more training in that field, partly
because we do often curate collections with "realia," and partly because
that field includes classes in materials science, which I was delighted to
know a little about and want to know more.  I never realized that a book is
a "composite object" and what that entails for storage until I took a class
in museum studies.

Hey, can't we all just get along?

Arel
(the usual disclaimers)
Arel Lucas
Archives/Special Collections Librarian
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott Campus
-----Original Message-----
From: Archives & Archivists [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Eric v.d. Luft, Ph.D., M.L.S., Curator of Historical Collections
Sent: Wednesday, June 14, 2006 7:29 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: The L Word

Ray's points are very well taken. Many people call me an "archivist." I'm
not. When they do, I 
explain to them that archivists have special training that I do not have,
and that to call an 
unqualified person like me an archivist is an insult to real archivists.

Cheers!

Eric (an old-fashioned scholar-librarian who happens to run the archives
here too)


Eric v.d. Luft, Ph.D., M.L.S.
Curator of Historical Collections, Health Sciences Library
Lecturer, Center for Bioethics and Humanities
SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY 13210
<http://www.upstate.edu/library/history/> -- 315-464-4585
Owner, Gegensatz Press <http://www.gegensatzpress.com/>

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A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List sponsored by the Society of American Archivists, www.archivists.org.
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