*frothing rage*
Seriously, it's taken me the better part of 36 hours to be able to write coherently because I am that pissed off.
Jon Stewart on archives and archivists: "A master's degree in archives management? What does that even mean? Oh, I've got a master's degree! I can archive things alphabetically or numerically. What, alpha-numerically? Slow down, I don't have a doctorate." [video link @ the Daily Show (2:58)]
Thank you, Jon Stewart, for perpetuating to a massive audience the idea that a master's degree for archivists is a joke and that all we do is arrange things in alphabetical or numerical order. I kind of hate you right now.
Librarians and archivists are already fighting to keep their jobs because people who think like that are in charge of the money and they don't believe a master's degree is necessary since anyone can arrange things in order. For the record, the people who arrange things in alpha-numeric order on the shelves are not usually the ones with the master's degrees (but they are still a valuable part of any library/archive).
Libraries and archives are quite different, but they do share some similarities and librarians and archivists are both in the same (under-appreciated and rather leaky) boat.
This is what we do:
We do all of this so that you can access your information in a snap. If we're doing our jobs well, it means you don't see the amount of work we put into it. But that does not make us slackers.
Please don't reduce our skill set to knowledge of ABCs and 123s. We deal with people who think like that every day. That's the reason my boss can't get money to give me a full-time job and the reason her own job is at risk.
It may be cheesy to rephrase a quote from The Mummy, but it's true: We may not be doctors or lawyers or TV show hosts, but we are proud of what we are.
Jon Stewart on archives and archivists: "A master's degree in archives management? What does that even mean? Oh, I've got a master's degree! I can archive things alphabetically or numerically. What, alpha-numerically? Slow down, I don't have a doctorate." [video link @ the Daily Show (2:58)]
Thank you, Jon Stewart, for perpetuating to a massive audience the idea that a master's degree for archivists is a joke and that all we do is arrange things in alphabetical or numerical order. I kind of hate you right now.
Librarians and archivists are already fighting to keep their jobs because people who think like that are in charge of the money and they don't believe a master's degree is necessary since anyone can arrange things in order. For the record, the people who arrange things in alpha-numeric order on the shelves are not usually the ones with the master's degrees (but they are still a valuable part of any library/archive).
Libraries and archives are quite different, but they do share some similarities and librarians and archivists are both in the same (under-appreciated and rather leaky) boat.
This is what we do:
- Yes, we assign books and other items call numbers. We also build and maintain databases and online catalogues and finding aids so that you can still find the information you're looking for when you can't remember the author or title or don't know the subject call number.
- We learn how to access and search databases other than Google because, contrary to popular belief, Google does not have all the answers. We learn how to adapt our search strategies so that we can still find your information in a world where databases come and go.
- We also learn how to search Google better, because sometimes Google does have the answers, and we learn about Google's specialized services for more precise search sets. Do you know about [Google Finance] or [Google Macs] or their [many other services]?
- We learn how to connect people with information. We learn how to identify what you need even if you cannot articulate your need when you first approach us.
- We think about the future so that whatever you're accessing today can still be accessed by your great-grandchildren 100 years from now (at least in some form, whether that is still an original document or a derivative but faithful reproduction because we are still bound by the laws of decay). When you think a mid-range JPEG is good enough quality, we know it's not. Not for our purposes. You may be thinking of the next 5 to 10 years; we're thinking of the next 100 to 500 years.
- Some of us risk our lives to make sure that you can access information. Some of us keep libraries and archives open in an politically unstable environments. Some of us keep libraries and archives open in buildings that are a fire hazard and/or otherwise unsafe because the Powers That Be don't allocate money to libraries/archives but we firmly believe that they should be open because you have the right to access our materials.
- And so much more I'm sure I'm forgetting.
We do all of this so that you can access your information in a snap. If we're doing our jobs well, it means you don't see the amount of work we put into it. But that does not make us slackers.
Please don't reduce our skill set to knowledge of ABCs and 123s. We deal with people who think like that every day. That's the reason my boss can't get money to give me a full-time job and the reason her own job is at risk.
It may be cheesy to rephrase a quote from The Mummy, but it's true: We may not be doctors or lawyers or TV show hosts, but we are proud of what we are.