Archival Education and Training in the United States, 1937 to Present

Abstract

From almost its inception in 1937, archival education and training has been primarily a post-employment effort. This is attributed to the indifference of the professional associations in both the fields of librarianship and history» the two main disciplines from which manuscript librarians and archivists are drawn. Between 1937-40 and 1967-70, the American Library Association became peripherally interested. The history profession has become more active since the early 1970's in its search for alternative careers for aspiring historians. Individual library schools also have been offering archival management courses since the early 1960's particularly. By lacking academic status, the American literature in the archival field has also been underdeveloped, and this has contributed to the slowness in developing adequate intellectual control of archival/manuscript sources. An attempt in 1967-70 to develop an archival manual within A.L.A. died aborning and the historical associations and Society of American Archivists have just begun to cope with the problem independently. Practicing archivists of necessity will continue to be the main teacher pool and contributors to the literature until regular faculty in library schools and history departments have been adequately trained, but first a basic reorientation must occur that recognizes that records and papers of contemporary society are the central problem.