Hi Steven,
Have you ever applied for one of these jobs you feel you're qualified for?
I ask because I am someone that is working professionally in an archives
with audio materials, and I do not have a masters degree. My B.S. isn't
even in a typical archivist-esque undergrad field; mine is in Audio
Technology. As noted by another person when you've complained about this
before, high-profile archival institutions have employees and managers that
do not have an MLS, etc. It happened in the past, at the least.
It would be helpful to know if you've applied and were denied (and how many
times), or if this is conjecture on your part. Students and interns read
this list, and it would be helpful for them to have an instructive,
constructive discussion of employment possibilities with all the relevant
information.
Thanks,
Jim
(sent during my lunch break)
On Wed, May 19, 2010 at 9:41 AM, Roger Kulp <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I had always thought there ought to be a way to apply knowledge acquired as
> a collector to an archival job.Why is someone with six years of college, a
> library science degree,and questionable real world experience better than
> someone with thirty or forty years experience as an advanced collector, and
> started as a child, as most of us did,but have no such degree?
>
> Roger
>
> ________________________________
> From: Steven C. Barr <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Sent: Tue, May 18, 2010 10:19:54 PM
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Audio preservation-was Glass Records
>
> --------------------------------------------------
> From: "Karl Miller" <[log in to unmask]>
> > Yes, MLS means Master of Library Science. And it's true that very few
> library/archival programs provide extensive training in audio preservation.
> They focus on text, and rightly so, because that's what the vast majority of
> librarians and archivists work with. Very few of us are lucky enough to
> work with sound recordings.
> > I think it is informative to read David Seubert's well-considered
> statement in the ARSC newsletter. He points out, as I have for years, at the
> lack of interest in audio on the part of libraries. Central to all of this
> is the lack of any regularized funding for audio preservation. Grants are
> not the answer.
> > Also, here at the University of Texas, our Preservation School was
> dissolved, and while a few classes in preservation remain, whatever
> specialization there was in preservation has been abandoned. In some ways
> the lack of serious training in preservation makes sense...if libraries are
> not interested in preservation, why train students in that discipline? As I
> pointed out in one of my articles, about 3% of the total budgets of the
> member libraries of the Association of Research Libraries is spent on
> preservation, with the bulk of that going to things like the binding of
> serials...assuming libraries are still getting paper copies...not even
> considering the implications of just getting access to publications
> electronically=not owning your own copy. Similarly, it is likely that many
> music libraries will cease buying CDs in the not too distant future.
> > Further, as I would assume all of us would agree, you can't teach audio
> preservation in two 3-hour courses, which is what I tried to do for several
> years. You can probably teach audio preservation "appreciation" in that
> length of time.
> > As all of us on this list know, depending on the nature of what needs to
> be preserved, audio preservation can require a broad range of knowledge; an
> understanding of the digital and analog technologies, acoustics, chemistry,
> etc. to knowledge of discography and, in the case of music recordings, music
> training. Interestingly, considering the incredible experience many on this
> list have, I would be amazed if many libraries would consider hiring any of
> you who are practitioners. Perhaps Library of Congress being the one
> exception to that perspective.
> > Karl (who thinks that much of the future of libraries can be found in the
> past)
> >
> I used to find it both annoying and frustrating that I would NEVER be
> considered
> for a position involving archiving sound recordings, since I lacked any
> relevant
> degrees! Meanwhile, I have accumulated and to some extent catalogued some
> 57,000 78rpm recordings...as well as created one of the standard reference
> works for the keepers of similar archives. To what extent are to-day's
> sound
> archivists aware of discography and/or its standard reference sources?!
>
> Steven C. Barr
>
>
>
>
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