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 Archivist
 An archivist is a professional who assesses,
collects, organizes, preserves, maintains
control over, and provides access to
information determined to have long-term
value. The information maintained by an
archivist can be any form of media (
photographs, video or sound recordings,
letters, documents, electronic records, etc.).
 AsRichard Pearce-Moses wrote,
"Archivists keep records that have
enduring value as reliable memories of the
past, and they help people find and
understand the information they need in
those records."
 Determining what records have enduring
value can be challenging. Archivists must
also select records valuable enough to
justify the costs of storage and
preservation, plus the labor intensive
expenses of arrangement, description,
and reference service.
 Thetheory and scholarly work
underpinning archives practices is called
archival science.
 American archivists are also guided in
their work by a code of ethics. Alongside
their work behind the scenes arranging
and caring for collections, archivists assist
users in interpreting collections and
answering inquiries.
 Thisreference work can be just part of an
archivist's job in a smaller organization, or
consist of most of their occupation in a
larger archive where specific roles (such
as processing archivist and
reference archivist) may be delineated.[
 Archivists work for a variety of
organizations, including
government agencies, local authorities,
museums, hospitals, historical societies,
businesses, charities, corporations,
colleges and universities, and any
institution whose records may potentially
be valuable to researchers, exhibitors,
genealogists, or others.
 Alternatively, they could also work on the
collections of a large family or even of an
individual. Applicants for archives jobs
usually outnumber positions available.
 Archivistsare often educators as well; it is
not unusual for an archivist employed at a
university or college to lecture in a subject
related to their collection.
 Archivists employed at cultural institutions
or for local government frequently design
educational or outreach programs to further
the ability of archive users to understand
and access information in their collections.
This might include such varied activities as
exhibitions, promotional events or even
media coverag
 Importance of Archives
It seems strange to researchers
like myself that anyone should
question the necessity for collecting
materials from the past and
organizing them in publicly funded
archives so that we in contemporary
times may use them in our studies.
 Skills

 Because of the varied nature of the job and organisations and work environment,
archivists need to have a wide range of skills:
 Those who work in reference and access-oriented positions need to be good with
people, so that they are able to help them with their research.
 An ability to apply some basic knowledge of conservation is needed to help extend
the useful life of cultural artifacts. Many different types of media (such as
photographs, acidic papers, and unstable copy processes) can deteriorate if not
stored and maintained properly.[9]
 Although many archival collections consist solely of paper records, increasingly
archivists must confront the new challenges posed by the preservation of electronic
records, so they need to be forward-looking and technologically proficient.[10]
 Because of the amount of sorting and listing, they need to be very logical and
organised and be able to pay attention to detail.
 When cataloging records, or when assisting users, archivists need to have some
research skills.
 Archivists are occasionally called upon to comment or provide some context for the
records in their collection and so should know as much about their collection as
possible.
 Professional organizations and
continuing education
 Many archivists belong to a professional organization, such as the
Society of American Archivists, the
Association of Canadian Archivists, the Society of Archivists
(UK/Ireland), the Colombian College of Archivists - CCA and the
Australian Society of Archivists, as well as any number of local or
regional associations. These organizations often provide ongoing
educational opportunities to their members and other interested
practitioners. In addition to formal degrees and or apprenticeships,
many archivists take part in continuing education opportunities as
available through professional associations and library school
programs. New discoveries in the fields of media preservation and
emerging technologies require continuing education as part of an
archivist's job in order to stay current in the profession
 History of the profession
 In 1898 three Dutch archivists, Samuel Muller, Johan Feith, and Robert Fruin, published the first Western text on
archival theory entitled "Manual for the Arrangement and Description of Archives". Produced for the Dutch
Association of Archivists, it set out one hundred rules for archivists to base their work around. Notably within
these rules the principle of preserving provenance and original order was first argued for as an essential trait of
archival arrangement and description.[15]
description.[15]
 The next major text was written in 1922 by Sir Hilary Jenkinson,
Jenkinson, the then Deputy Keeper of the British Public
Records Office, entitled "Manual of Archive Administration". In this work Jenkinson states that archives are
evidence and that the moral and physical defence of this evidential value is the central tenet of archival work. He
further outlines his ideas of what an Archive should be and how it should operate.
 In 1956, T. R. Schellenberg,
Schellenberg, who is known as the "Father of American Archival Appraisal",[16]
Appraisal",[16] published "Modern
Archives". Schellenberg's work was intended to be an academic textbook defining archival methodology and
giving archivists specific technical instruction on workflow and arrangement. Moving away from Jenkinson's
organic and passive approach to archival acquisition, where the administrator decided what was kept and what
was destroyed, Schellenberg argued for a more active approach by archivists to appraisal. His primary
(administrative) and secondary (research) value model for the management and appraisal of records and archives
allowed government archivists greater control over the influx of material that they faced after the Second World
War. As a result of the widespread adoption of Schellenberg's methods, especially in the United States of
America, modern Records Management as a separate but related discipline was born.[17] born.[17]
 In 1972, Ernst Posner published "Archives in the Ancient World". Posner's work emphasized that archives were
not new inventions, but had existed in many different societies throughout recorded history.
 In 1975, essays by Margaret Cross Norton were collected under the title of "Norton on Archives: The Writings of
Margaret Cross Norton on Archival and Records Management". Norton was one of the founders of the
Society of American Archivists,
Archivists, and wrote essays based on her decades of experience working in the Illinois State
Archives
The past is always relevant to the
present, informing our views, answering
our questions and pointing us in the
right direction. At the same time,
contemporary insights let us reacquaint
ourselves with past documentation and
see in it, for the first time as it were,
implications hitherto unseen or
unappreciated.
1. Archives are an essential
means of examining the past
2. Archives contain information
and are a great national
resource as they document the
history and identity of
communities nationwide.
3. They also protect the interests of
individuals, organizations, and
society in general. Archival
material is generally over thirty
years old and is often paper-
based, however, other media can
include vellum and parchment,
photographs, slides, maps, plans
and drawings, film, video, and
sound recording
4. Archives serve as
instruments of accountability
and as building blocks of
collective memory.
Archival materials, like library
materials, are important cultural
resources. Several
characteristics, however,
distinguish the types of materials
generally held in library
collections from those found in
archival collections.
Alternate copies of the materials
housed in a given library can often
be found in the collections of other
libraries.
Archival materials, in contrast, are
often unique and are found only in a
single repository. Sue McKemmish
(1993) provides an overview of the
key distinctions between library and
archival materials.
She describes the materials held
in libraries as information
products, which have been
consciously authored for
dissemination or publication “to
inform, perpetuate knowledge,
convey ideas, feelings, and
opinions; to entertain, [and] to
provide information about their
subject
She characterizes materials found in
archives, on the other hand, as
information by-products of activity,
which are accumulated or created in
the course of doing business in
order to facilitate the business
process of which they are a part.
McKemmish further notes that
while library materials are
often discrete items, archival
materials are usually part of a
larger group of related records.
 Comparison of an archives from a
library
ARCHIVES LIBRARY
unpublished publishes

groups of related items discrete items

unique available elsewhere

1. Respect des fonds
The principle that the records of a person,
family or corporate body must be kept
together in their original order,
if it exists or has been maintained, and not
be mixed with the records of another
individual or corporate body. This
fundamental principle embodies the
notions of PROVENANCE and RESPECT
FOR ORIGINAL ORDER.
 2. Provenance
The organization or individual that
created, accumulated, and/or
maintained and used records in
the course of their business or
activities
Also refers to “office of origin”
 3.
3 Respect for Original Order
Records of a single provenance
should retain the arrangement
established by the creator in order
to preserve existing relationships
and evidential significance in the
records
Also refers to “respect pour l
’ordre primitif” or “Sanctity of the
original order”
 means order in which the records
were
created, or
maintained or stored by the
creator
the original order must be
preserved, or restored
most evident in organizational records
Application of archival principles
ensures that records are
preserved and used within the
context of their creation,
thereby lending integrity to
their evidence of the actions of
their creator
minimizes if not eliminates the
subjective role that archivists play
in shaping the meaning of the
evidence, enabling the records to
“speak for themselves” about the
actions of their creator
Archivists do not tamper with
the evidence but instead
preserve its context so that it
can be accessed and used in
meaningful form.
 www.clarelibrary.ie/.../archives/importance_local_archives.htm -
 archivists.metapress.com/index/d6rh3w55028u4h14.pdf

http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/6422/Archives-Public-Records-and-Re
 Paarl wiki.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archivist#Professional_organizations_and_continuing_education