Archivists and Librarians: A Common Mission, A Common Education

Abstract

IN TODAY'S SOCIETY, programs and services are often evaluated in terms of the line. The bottom line for archivists and librarians is not profit or loss but our ability to provide information to those who need it. Although the material we handle varies in format, our basic goals have been to collect, organize, conserve, and provide access to information. In spite of this similarity of goals, archivists and librarians have traditionally regarded themselves as two separate professions. But the common ground remains and is becoming increasingly important as the problem of handling ever-growing amounts of information requires cooperative efforts to develop systems for providing information effectively and efficiently. In developing new education guidelines, the Society of American Archivists (SAA) should seek to create a program that will provide archivists with a comprehensive professional education. The framework for such a program exists already in graduate library schools. Given their common goals and problems, archivists and librarians can be educated most effectively together. We must examine what has separated them and work at designing a single professional program that can meet the needs of both archivists and librarians. In 1977 SAA approved education guidelines to establish minimum standards for beginning archivists. We believe that these guidelines are too narrowly conceived in relation to the larger problem of information control and therefore fail to direct archives education in the most effective manner. In their present form, the guidelines will result in continued separation of archivists from their colleagues in information management, the librarians and information scientists.*