Archiving as a Career

Hi All,

I'm currently in the first semester of my MLIS program and am trying to figure out which track I want to take. I'm really leaning toward archiving, but was hoping I could get some information/feedback about it. I have my Bachelor's in History, and the idea of preserving and organizing information and materials for posterity is really exciting to me.

For those of you who have or are working as an archivist:

What is it like? What's an average day in an archive? What do you think the pros and cons are?

Any information would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Hi Absurda,

Archives are great places, though each repository is different. Lone Arrangers have it very different from large repositories with large staff, though the basics are the same. As a Lone Arranger I get to do *everything* myself. Those in larger repositories may have a more specialized focus - just processing, just reference, just photographs.

What is it like? It's busy. I'm responsible for making contacts with donors, finagling the donation, bringing the boxes in, going through them - making an appraisal. Then figuring out my processing plan, arrangement, etc. Then processing - and writing up the finding aid and getting it boxed and on the shelf. Meanwhile I attend meetings - about 3 a week - for various committees, library and outside. And don't forget the reference requests, people coming in or calling or emailing you. I have to really prioritize my activities.

What's an average day in an archive? Email. work on a project, answer the phone, meet with a graduate student, work on a project, greet a patron stopping by to do research, work with them off and on for the duration of their visit. Scan a document for "scan-on-demand" delivery for one of my federal customers. It's a different story every day, always revolving around 3-4 different projects.

What do you think the pros and cons are? The cons might be the salary, it can be low in some places, though I have a spouse who works also so that makes it meet in the middle. The pros are more numerous to me. I love what I do, I love the feeling of getting a collection processed and on the shelf. I love finding information for a person - solving a mystery. There's a certain satisfaction to having everything in a place. I love networking with my colleagues in the local and regional organizations. Bouncing ideas off of them - how do you do this?.... what did you do in this situation?....

I love speaking to school groups, telling them about Archives and oral history. I love judging History Fair.(My BA is History and MS is Applied History.)

You might want to seek out some internship or volunteer opportunities to get a good feel for what you prefer when it comes to Archives. Do you like cataloguing? Outreach? Reference work? Donor relations? If you can put yourself in a place with a good mentor for 3-5 months you'll get a handle on whether you have found a niche.

Good luck!

It's better than flipping burgers. Assuming you can actually get a decent position.

The pros, as far as I'm concerned, are numberless. You get to work with original material, you're doing something really constructive, often the work is very varied... I too love doing what I do. On the whole, I prefer working in smaller institutions, because I'd rather not do the same thing every day. When I worked for a very large archive, I used to catalogue all day every day in an office on my own, and that was a bit much (though I like cataloguing.)

Islandgal's description is pretty close to my experience of smaller repositories. There's also stuff like arranging exhibitions and publicity material (if you work for a business archive). And liaison with records-creators or records-management departments.

As others have said, you don't do this to make your fortune. However, the biggest snag I've found is the difficulty of getting that first permanent job. I've had longterm temp contracts, but when they came to an end, there wasn't necessarily a job to go to straightaway. (It probably helps a lot if you can relocate, which I can't for a variety of reasons.)

I'm in the UK and am still studying for my MLitt by distance learning, which means I have to have a job (if I'd been able to do it as a resident student I'd be finished by now!) but it's taken me about four months after the end of my contract to find one, both times - and I started looking well before the contract ended.

However, I start a new permanent job this month - wish me luck!

Thanks Islandgal and kicking_k for the information. The historian in me is practically drooling over the idea of getting my hands on original materials : )

I am concerned about getting a job when I finish with library school. I've never worked in a library before, so I don't have any experience there. I can't really do an internship since I have to continue to work full time. Anyway, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it; I'm not opposed to relocating.

Good luck on the new job kicking_k!

Absurda, Don't think I mentioned that the $$ is in Records Management and/or Corporate Archives. Some jobs that offer both tend to pay higher (outside of Academia.) Take anything you can related to electronic records and technology!! That is my weakness and more and more of the jobs are looking for technological experience/knowledge.

Yeah, the historian part of me gets excited each time I pick up a new collection! And I also get tapped to do exhibits in-house and local public library. I've done a handful of library brochures/outreach. It can be a very well-rounded job.

The problem in my mind is that a good history background is probably more important to the archivist than a library science background. Unfortunately, the trend seems to be in the other direction.

After 12 years in the business, I think a little bit of both is necessary. It really can depend on what kind of repository you want to work for. There are days I wish I had a tad more "library science" background. But the bulk of my job experience has always required a heavy history background. Universities have placed library and archives program under the "Information" umbrella.

Until there is an ALA/SAA approved Masters of Archival Science degree with set curriculum, etc. you're going to continue to have the dichotomy. Perhaps that's one reason I support Certification. If you hire a CA, you know what you're getting. MLS or MS be darned.

I don't think a history background is VITAL, but then I would say that - mine is in languages!

That said, I have always had an interest in history, and I don't think I'd recommend going into the field with no interest in it whatsoever. However, if you're in a business archive (for example) you might never deal with much old material, and that might be frustrating to a diehard historian.

So I don't think the history background is necessarily the be-all and end-all.