{"title":"“Sometimes I feel like they hate us”: The Society of American Archivists and Graduate Archival Education in the Twenty-first Century","authors":"A. H. Poole, Ashley Todd-Diaz","doi":"10.17723/2327-9702-86.1.79","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17723/2327-9702-86.1.79","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The Society of American Archivists (SAA) has long involved itself with graduate-level archival education. It has sponsored committees and subcommittees, guidelines, roundtables/sections, student chapters, and pre-conferences. But limited empirical evidence exists regarding faculty members' view of SAA's involvement with graduate archival education. This exploratory qualitative case study employs semistructured interviews with full-time, tenure-track archival faculty. We address the ways in which SAA contributes to faculty members' teaching, faculty members' encouragement of students to join SAA, SAA student chapters and faculty advising, and how SAA might promote better communication, coordination, and collaboration between graduate archival education programs and practitioners. We contend that despite decades of effort on both sides, the relationship between graduate archival education programs and the Society of American Archivists remains disjointed, ultimately limiting the field's development. We offer recommendations and suggestions for future research to strengthen this relationship in the interest of improving student experience and the health of the profession.","PeriodicalId":39979,"journal":{"name":"American Archivist","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42344706","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A*CENSUS II: All Archivists Survey Report","authors":"Makala Skinner, Ioana G. Hulbert","doi":"10.17723/2327-9702-86.1.18","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17723/2327-9702-86.1.18","url":null,"abstract":"Five thousand, six hundred and ninety-nine archivists and memory workers across the United States took the time to share their experiences within the archives profession by completing the A*CENSUS II All Archivists Survey. The All Archivists Survey, fielded seventeen years after the original A*CENSUS collected foundational data for the field, provides a measure of how far the field has come in nearly two decades and introduces new or expanded areas of exploration, including sections on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, community archives, and student loan debt.This report shares findings on the current employment, education, and demographic characteristics of archivists and memory workers. It examines their perspectives and experiences on topics including job placement, salaries, sector differences, attrition, and key issues in the field. Further, it compares demographic data across time, with a particular focus on how the distribution of race/ethnicity and gender has changed since the original A*CENSUS in 2004.A*CENSUS II demonstrates the power of collaboration across the archives profession. In addition to the 5,699 individuals who responded to the All Archivists Survey, the project was made possible through the volunteer work of a dedicated project team, working group, and several partner organizations. This research study is funded by the Institution for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and was jointly developed by the Society of American Archivists, Ithaka S+R, and the A*CENSUS II working group, whose members represent diverse sectors and roles within the archives profession.It is our hope that the findings in this first report be shared widely and freely with the archives community so that they may be leveraged to positively impact the profession. The data may be used in myriad ways, from workforce planning, to diversifying the profession, increasing funding, to advocating for resources, to meeting professional development needs. Here we highlight the most striking key findings from the All Archivists Survey: The majority (81 percent) of respondents are employed full-time and 9 percent are employed part-time. Eighty-nine percent of employed respondents are in permanent roles, and 71 percent of respondents in permanent roles are salaried.The MLS/MLIS degree has risen in importance in the archives profession while also being more likely to result in student loan debt. The proportion of MLS/MLIS degree holders increased 52 percent since 2004, representing the highest increase of any degree type. Simultaneously, respondents with an MLS/MLIS degree are more likely to graduate with student loan debt compared with respondents graduating with other degrees, including those with a comparable degree such as an MA/MS/MFA.The proportion of BIPOC individuals in the archives profession has doubled since 2004. While the overwhelming majority of the archives profession is White and BIPOC respondents continue to be underrepresented in the a","PeriodicalId":39979,"journal":{"name":"American Archivist","volume":"68 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135469581","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Rescued from Oblivion: Historical Cultures in the Early United States","authors":"Amber Glen","doi":"10.17723/2327-9702-86.1.240","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17723/2327-9702-86.1.240","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":39979,"journal":{"name":"American Archivist","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42482895","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Academic Enclosure of American Archivist","authors":"E. Tansey","doi":"10.17723/2327-9702-86.1.117","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17723/2327-9702-86.1.117","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 American Archivist is the oldest journal of the US archival profession. In its first several decades of publication, a wide variety existed among the institutional affiliations of American Archivist contributors. Since the 1990s, articles authored by archivists within higher education have almost completely eclipsed articles authored by archivists from other sectors, particularly government archivists. This “academic enclosure” of American Archivist has significant ramifications for the quality and richness of our professional discourse. This is the first article to track institutional affiliations of American Archivist research article authors across nearly the entirety of the journal's publication history. The author examined the institutional affiliation of a data set of 1,799 articles printed in American Archivist from the journal's inception in 1938 through 2019. This article contextualizes the trends in institutional affiliations by reviewing the editorial policies of the journal over its eighty-year run.","PeriodicalId":39979,"journal":{"name":"American Archivist","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46188537","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Reference Staffing and Scheduling Models in Archives and Special Collections: A Survey Analysis of Prepandemic Practices","authors":"A. Hawk","doi":"10.17723/2327-9702-85.2.480","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17723/2327-9702-85.2.480","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Reference services form the core function of any type of library. Even when faced with shrinking budgets and staff sizes, library and archives workers continue to provide reference services to meet the demands of researchers. Yet a critical analysis of the internal systems used for archival and special collections reference work is lacking compared to the robust body of research about users of collection materials. This article presents findings from a national survey about reference staffing and scheduling models in archival and special collections repositories conducted immediately prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey data revealed specific models for staffing and scheduling used by participating institutions, respondents' level of satisfaction with staffing and scheduling models, and the most common challenges and successes related to reference services. The responses also conveyed information about the number of special collections and archives staff participating in reference services, the average length and frequency of shifts, and typical service hours. The findings indicated overall satisfaction among respondents in terms of their unit's staffing and scheduling models, with larger institutions reporting higher satisfaction rates across all categories than smaller institutions. Yet many survey participants reported budget constraints and staffing shortages that negatively impact public services operations. Although the results do not pinpoint a single approach to reference staffing and scheduling that will work for all archives and special collections units, qualitative responses suggest that successful reference models depend on sufficient staffing, internal buy-in and cooperation among employees, and support from supervisors and administration.","PeriodicalId":39979,"journal":{"name":"American Archivist","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49568027","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"#Archives: Centering the Profession in Critical Conversations and Popular Discourse","authors":"Rose Buchanan, Stephanie Luke","doi":"10.17723/2327-9702-85.2.700","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17723/2327-9702-85.2.700","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":39979,"journal":{"name":"American Archivist","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43611427","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Toward Metaliteracy and Transliteracy in the History Classroom: A Case Study Among Underserved Students","authors":"Alston Cobourn, J. Brown, Ed Warga, Lisa Louis","doi":"10.17723/2327-9702-85.2.587","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17723/2327-9702-85.2.587","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 In the last twenty years, scholars have reimagined information literacy to better address an overly saturated world of information and the growing participatory culture of Web 2.0. Outside of library and information science (LIS), researchers have promoted transliteracy—the intersection between information, visual, digital, and other literacies—to help students find and assess information. Within the LIS discipline, metaliteracy has provided a foundation to rethink information literacy frameworks, redefining students as creators who produce and share information. Relatively few studies exist, however, on how to leverage literacies in support of student digital scholarship projects. Likewise, digital humanities professors promote metaliteracy in the classroom, yet fewer scholars create digital humanities projects or write case studies about them outside of research institutions, prestigious private colleges, and larger, well-established public history programs. This case study examines a class project for a small undergraduate Introduction to Public History course at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi (TAMU–CC), a regional university with a comparatively large population of historically underserved students. Working with one archivist, two librarians, and the professor, students established a digital home for the ongoing South Texas Stories oral history project. Through this project, students learned and practiced various aspects of primary source literacy, information literacy, visual literacy, and digital literacy. The authors argue that such digital projects promote both metaliteracy and transliteracy, offering students a holistic learning experience during which they can practice their skills and that these types of projects are feasible at all kinds of institutions, even those with largely historically underserved populations.","PeriodicalId":39979,"journal":{"name":"American Archivist","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45827967","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}