I understand your point and absolutely relate to and agree with your
second paragraph.
But my point about the CA is actually reflected well when you note that
the NPC had a sense of comfort and assurance that they had hired well
because you are "certified." You would have been just a valuable and
educated had they hired you without it--and you are the only one with an
advanced specialized degree. Criminy--those librarians/archivists
should be taking some tests to be on the same standing as *YOU*! Then
again, say you were a lousy archivist with bad habits, no common sense,
and didn't know MARC from Mark down the hall--but you passed a
certification exam? Then was does it tell them about you or about our
profession?
Look, there are lots of goobers out there running around with Ph.D.s
they paid $500 for on the Internet, and they get hired because they have
Ph.D. They can fool hundreds of people and it doesn't reflect well on
their profession, but it makes the person doing the hiring feel better.
We are all spokespersons for our profession. A woman I knew once said
about catalogers that "catalogers are /born/, not /made/" and so it is
with archivists. You can't /make /an archivist--we're *BORN* people!
(Well, the good ones are.) You can have an individual can pass the
courses, nail the exam, and walk into a place of employment and be as
cognizant as a box of hair. And it puts added pressure on those who are
just entering the job market--as I was chided earlier for it being easy
for me to say this since I already have a job. That stinks!
Okay, so maybe I'm naive. But I'll take personal engagement and
commitment to my profession before I take that blasted exam. I'd rather
spend the money on a round of drinks for my fellow Archivists!
Susan
(my opinions..all mine)
Susan G. Hamson
University Archivist | Columbia University Archives
535 West 116th Street, MC 4316 | Low Memorial Library
New York, NY 10027 | Voice: 212.854.1331 | Fax: 212.854.7320
Christina Hostetter wrote:
>
> My only disagreement with your statement is that not all archivists
> are hired by other archivists. I am the ONLY archivist at the
> National Press Club and besides two people in our library the only one
> with an advanced specialized degree. I took the exam (and thankfully
> passed) not to prove that I'm better than anyone or I'm more qualified
> than another candidate but rather to have some standing with the rest
> of the staff and more importantly with our members. When the members
> found out that their archivist was certified it gave them a sense that
> they were moving in the right direction with the archives and also
> that I all of the sudden was more qualified in my recommendations on
> how to care for the many materials in the archives and on display
> throughout the club.
>
>
>
> The exam itself was by no means fun, nor was it the best measure of an
> archivists capabilities but please keep in mind that people take the
> test for different reasons. If anyone hates standardized tests it's
> me and I dreaded the test but I'm glad that I did it. Also, keep in
> mind that exams such as SATs and GREs are also a poor measure of
> knowledge or skills. Although you can't "fail" them they do affect
> your ability to get into good schools and even with excellent grades
> you can bomb on a standardized test. Trust me, I bombed both the SATs
> and GREs but still managed to get a decent education.
>
>
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> Christina J. Zamon
>
> Archivist
>
> National Press Club Archives
>
> 529 14th Street, NW
>
> Suite 480
>
> Washington, DC 20045
>
> 202-662-7598
>
> http://www.press.org/library06/archives.cfm
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> *From:* Archives & Archivists [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> *On Behalf Of *Susan Hamson
> *Sent:* Monday, August 07, 2006 2:29 PM
> *To:* [log in to unmask]
> *Subject:* Re: CA Exam
>
>
>
> "A form of professional credentialing is extremely important in a
> profession that is little known, recognized or understood by those
> outside it. "
>
> Respectfully, I think this is more important to those inside the
> profession than those outside of it. Anyone who welcomes or turns
> away prospective candidates on the basis of whether or not they have a
> C.A. is short-sighted and THAT I believe is damaging to the profession.
>
>
>
> Susan G. Hamson
> University Archivist | Columbia University Archives
> 535 West 116th Street, MC 4316 | Low Memorial Library
> New York, NY 10027 | Voice: 212.854.1331 | Fax: 212.854.7320
>
>
>
> Pullen, Sharon wrote:
>
> Unfortunately, since there is no masters' degree in archival studies
> in the United States and no mechanism of program approval from SAA,
> certification is the /only/ professional credential available to
> archivists in this country.
>
>
>
> It is somewhat naïve to believe that only keeping up with professional
> literature, the respect of your colleagues, and learning by doing good
> work are all that matters. A form of professional credentialing is
> extremely important in a profession that is little known, recognized
> or understood by those outside it. Until there is an official
> graduate degree in archives, */not/* only certificate programs
> attached to Library Science or History degrees, the CA designation
> stands alone as a credential that is becoming familiar to those who do
> the hiring.
>
>
>
> Until the profession of archivist is one that has clearly understood
> academic qualifications for the entry level practitioner attached to
> it, the CA is definitely needed.
>
>
>
> When it has taken the National Archives of this nation more than 40
> years to conceptualize the idea that a historian is not necessarily an
> archivist, or vice versa, denigrating any vehicle that provides
> professional recognition of education and specialization to the entry
> level archivist and continues to validate the professionalism of mid
> and senior level archivists is damaging to the profession.
>
>
>
> My $0.02, also not meant to be inflammatory but strongly felt,
> nonetheless.
>
>
>
> Sharon A. Pullen, C.A.
> Archivist
> Office of the County Clerk
> Historic Documents Library
> 310 Center Drive
> Riverhead, NY 11901-3392
> Email: [log in to unmask]
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> Phone: (631) 852-2000 extn. 700
> Fax: (631) 852-2004
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
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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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To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to [log in to unmask]
In body of message: SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
*or*: UNSUB ARCHIVES
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Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <[log in to unmask]>