What's an ‘Archivist’? Some Nineteenth-Century Perspectives

Abstract

Uncertainties about what archivists are, or do, have existed, along with many still-familiar stereotypes, since the term ‘archivist’ first appeared in the media. While the general public is generally clear about what ‘archives’ themselves (the materials) are, it finds defining ‘the archivist’ more difficult. This is due largely to the variety of roles undertaken by archivists at any one time. Nineteenth-century representations of archivists in The Times and other British publications portray archivists variously as custodians, historians, bureaucrats or, indeed, spies. Today, archivists continue to perform a multiplicity of tasks, though what these are is, similarly, not always understood. Paradoxically it is this inherent ambiguity of the archivist's role which has remained constant over time, a characteristic which might be positively interpreted as professional flexibility in response to society's changing requirements for what is wanted from the archives themselves.