To amend what I stated: I do not mean that my library school instructors
were lacking knowledge but rather that certain classes were not offered
which would be of benefit to this test as well as some subjects were not
covered fully. Furthermore, it was repeated often to the students that
much of how you process or practice it depends on the institution where
you work and the materials that come in.
Thank you for letting me clarify
Kelly
________________________________
From: Archives & Archivists [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Kelly B. Farner
Sent: Monday, August 07, 2006 9:49 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: CA Exam
Hello
I have to agree with your assessment that the questions did not
necessarily apply to "real" job scenarios. In working with a small
museum archive, I felt very few of the questions really applied to my
daily work life. Additionally, at my library school the archive's
principle mantra was "it depends." Much of archival work is situational
and cannot have a definite answer. Therefore, I agree that the exam
left me feeling very upset. I do not know if it was the exam and the
manner it was set-up or this was the lack of knowledge given at my
library school or my own lack of knowledge. Furthermore, I agree that
there should be a way to defend or define why a person answered a
question in the method (purpose, approach) he or she did.
Thanks for letting me vent.
Kelly
________________________________
From: Archives & Archivists [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of [log in to unmask]
Sent: Saturday, August 05, 2006 6:21 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: CA Exam
Dear List,
This past week I took the certified archivists exam and wanted to
share my experience and generate feedback from others, especially from
those who took it as well. My honest opinion was that the exam was not
a great tool to assess our professional archival skills, or to put it
another way, I thought the exam was awful. I felt many of the questions
were poorly written and poorly worded. There were other questions that
I felt were very obscure and not necessarily something most archivists
have to deal with on a daily basis, or ever for that matter. Some
questions asked were of the "what should you do in this situation" type
question. The problem with these type of questions is that they do not
account for other factors. While the literature says, or suggests what
should be done, this can only be applied under exact or similar
situations provided in the literature. Other circumstances sometimes
dictate that an archivist needs to make a different decision.
Therefore, a question like this does not have a right or wrong answer
unless the exact details of the situation are known. Also, there were
some questions that I felt were really irrelevant in determining whether
or not we are capable archivists.
Now, again, this is just my opinion. Maybe some felt it was a good
exam. However, I am not one of them and I have the feeling there were
other individuals who took the exam who were not happy with it either.
While I understand that all the questions are taken from the literature,
this does not mean these answers are best, or even the correct. The
literature is written by human beings and no human is perfect. In fact,
I am the first to say I have many flaws and far from being perfect. It
also needs to be considered that the literature reflects the opinions
and beliefs of that given author, which is most likely formed due to
their experience. However, another person may have a different answer
opinion based on their experience, which may have differed from the
other individual. Nevertheless, I felt that asking questions that came
only from literature is an inaccurate way to measure the capabilities,
experience, and knowledge of an archivist. Memorizing facts is a true
way to assess someone's merit as an archivist. What would be an
accurate method for this? I am not sure there is a method that is 100%
accurate. However, adding a component to the exam, like an essay/short
answer type question, that allows for subjectivity and flexibility for
questions where other circumstances can dictate how and why an archivist
comes to the decision that he/she makes should perhaps be added to the
exam (or at least considered).
Again though, this is just my personal opinion. Feel free to
disagree if you do not share this same opinion. The purpose of this
message is just to generate a friendly discussion about the exam and to
see if other individuals felt similar about the exam as I do, or if I am
the only one who had difficulty with it. I look forward to reading the
responses to this message.
A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List sponsored by the
Society of American Archivists, www.archivists.org. For the terms of
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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.
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In body of message: SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname *or*: UNSUB ARCHIVES
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Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
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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
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Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
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Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <[log in to unmask]>