I notice with regularity that many see book and periodical repositories (the L word) as interchangeable with Archival repositories. I know many archivists work for these repositories (the L word) and languish in the low salary pool as those who work in book repositories. I notice that job postings for positions in libraries are frequently posted here with salaries that are incredibly low. 

Archivists are not librarians and librarians are not archivists. (There, I used the L word). I think there is too much confusion between the two. Could it be that those with an MLS degree can suddenly put out a shingle as an archivist? Have libraries co-opted archival repositories and brought archivists into their structure thus bringing salaries down? Some libraries even require an MLS to be an archivist at their institution (often a tenure track requirement).

How do archivists differentiate themselves from librarians? Do you ever have problems with being confused as a librarian? Should you wear a "No. I am not a librarian." button? 

What do you think?

Raymond K. Cunningham, Jr. CRM, CA

"When I hear someone using librarian and archivist in the same sentence I reach for my revolver." 

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