Professional archivists require some post-secondary education (typically a history or library science degree) and training to enter lower level archival positions. In order to advance, experience and extra graduate education, a Ph.D. or second master's degree, maybe needed. Many of the requirements may simply depend on the employing institution. These places could prize specialized expertise in business or science in addition to or over the typical archival education for entry level positions.
Unfortunately, for the prospective budding archivist there is a divide in how to become an archivist. Sometimes what the archival profession wants and what the employers want are two separate things, and it is up to the student to decide what path to take. In the long run, it is the student's best bet to take the profession's advice.
A cursory glance at the professional literature from the Society of American Archivist's Archival Outlook and American Archivist, the Canadian journals Archival Issues and Archivaria, and other publications there is this continual argument for improving the new crops of archivists coming out of graduate programs and better education for those already in the field. The SAA has its Guidelines for the Development of a Curriculum for a Master of Archival Studies [wp] and there are various library science and history graduate departments with concentrations in archival studies/science. To add to the qualifications desired by the professional societies certification is available by the Academy of Certified Archivists.
According to the SAA's web page [wp], The Archival Profession [wp], the qualifications are as follows:
"Individuals can prepare for a career in archives through a variety of educational programs. Most entry-level positions require an undergraduate and a graduate degree, together with archival course work and a practicum. Although archivists have a variety of undergraduate majors, most receive graduate degrees in history or library science. Some degrees in both fields. Other useful specialization's include public administration and political science. Ph.D. is often preferred for higher ranking positions in academic institutions. Particular knowledge of certain subjects may be important for work in archives that have specialized topical emphases. Training and experience in conducting research in primary and secondary sources are also helpful."
For a listing of possible schools for graduate level archival studies or continuing education programs go to the Society of American Archivists' web page Directory of Archival Education Programs [wp].
Unlike library science, there are no SAA accredited archives science programs. Archives studies is housed in either history or library science departments, each offering their own benefits. A history MA degree can give the student the exposure to research methods and, of course, a historical background. Library science departments, usually ALA (American Library Assoc.) [wp] accredited, provides the student with skills in reference and organization. Some students choose not to choose between the two, and take both an MA in history and an M.L.S.
History departments with an archives studies program usually offer classes along the lines of preservation, archival management, museum conservation, records management, manuscripts, and research. In addition to these, history departments provide historical background. Those students who specialize in American history, gain a greater sense of the historical importance of the items they work with. Yet in the larger sphere of history programs most tend to cull their students toward a career in academia or teaching. Some programs are not so, such as the University of Massachusetts-Boston, which is literally a stone's throw from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum and the Massachusetts State Archives, and Western Washington University.
The arena of archival studies is dominated by library science or information sciences departments. Part of this could be due to the nature of the archives being so similar (but still different) to that of libraries. Also library science programs are more computer oriented than history programs, which as things become more computerized, like records and catalogues, students are more prepared to deal with them.
Dual Programs
Get the best of both worlds. Schools like the University of Maryland- College Park have dual degree programs. At Maryland, the HiLS program combines the two.[wp]
Part of the profession's efforts to become more professional and to gain professional recognition is certification, which comes after graduate education and some archival experience. To obtain certification, the applicant must possess a Master's degree (which included 9 semester hours of archives management or other type of archives education) and one or two years of archival experience before taking a required exam. Certification is offered by the Academy of Certified Archivists (ACA). Certification is fairly new (ACA est. in 1989) and appears to be slowly to catching on. For information concerning certification and the exam take a look at the ACA homepage [wp] or their web handbook [wp].
Sometimes employers hire people without any pre-appointment archival training, and Frank Boles, in his article "Making Hard Choices", attributes this to employers failing to keep up with the pace of trends in archival education. Yet there are particular qualifications employers have for the entry-level archival employee.
In his 1991 dissertation on what employers want, Alan D. Gabehart discovered a few things. For one, there is what the employers require, a minimum, and what they prefer, which is where graduate education becomes helpful.
Educational
Most employers require at least a B.A. (about 37% on average in Gabehart's survey). Notably among corporate, government, and religious archives at least 50% of those sectors required a B.A. The second most requirement among archives (30%), on average, is a M.L.S.. After that at 13%, is the master's degree in history, which is required more often for federal government and special research institution jobs.
Employers prefer a master's degree. On average, the highest preference (26%) was for a dual master's degree in history and library science. The next highest preferences were for library science (24%) and history (23%) master's degrees. Asked if employer's had a preference for a candidate's undergraduate educational background, employers' overwhelmingly favored history majors.
Certification and other things
Gabehart's survey asked participants if certification had any effect on hiring. The answer appears to be no. Yet this survey was taken in the early 1990's and the Academy of Certified Archivists, which promotes certification, was still fairly new, since then it appears that ACA certification is catching on.
Government as Employer and the requirements
The United States federal government is one of the largest single employers of archivists. When looking at their lowest entry level requirements for the GS-1421 Archives Technician Series, they are quite open. The higher levels, which would be for the GS-1420 Archivist Series has particular education requirements and desires professional experience as an archivist. Keep in mind, even though the archivist may be working for an agency that requires expertise in a certain area (Holocaust, Military, etc) the requirements are still based on the assumption that the applicant is working for the National Archives. Many GS-1421 Archivist positions require 18 credit hours of American history or government classes. There are Archives Specialist positions, at the same pay rate as the Archivist positions, that do not require the 18 credit hours, but may require 2 years of archives study. These postions recognize the growth of archives programs, which may not have existed in the 1960's when the job descriptions and requirements were written for the Archival positions.
"Unlike most other professions, the professional archival community includes a number of professionally employed archivists who lack any pre-appointment archival training."
---Frank Boles, Director of Clarke Historical Library. [bib, 9]
Some folks just fall into becoming an archivist, others purposely seek out the work. I usually imagine a scene where an employer just randomly grabs someone and knights them as archivist. Sometimes it could be a secretary, librarian, office staff person who had just been given the extra task of taking care of the organization's records, and then is dubbed the archivist. Some employers may not require a degree in archival science or ACA certification, but it would be in a candidate's best interest to have some educational background and archival experience. Also once someone becomes an archivist, whether or not they had any pre-appointment archival training, continuing archival training is necessary throughout the archivist's career.
Last edited by M M Maxwell on 01/18/00