Re: [ARSCLIST] Certification

["Watsky, Lance" <lwatsky@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Right now, I am preparing to sit for the Academy of Certified Archivists (ACA) exam on August, 4th. This exam is quickly becoming more respected in the archival community, and I would urge you to take a look at their website: (http://www.certifiedarchivists.org/)  

I currently have my masters degree in the "Preservation and Restoration of Motion Pictures and Recorded Sound", California State University, Chico, and feel as though the preparation for the exam has given me a better understanding of the relationship between media preservation and archives. After all, many of the different aspects of audio preservation that we discuss on this list is actually a part of the bigger archival picture. 

It is possible that we could even discuss a joint venture with the ACA Board. When I spoke with members of their Board in the past, I was told that they were extremely interested in gaining members with strong technical knowledge.

I also want to add that many Archivists that could of been grand-fathered in chose to either not take the test because they respected the process and didn't feel as though they wanted to set a bad example, or they took the test and focused on getting all of their points together to re-certify. One of the best parts of the ACA Exam is it creates a process of "continuing education" - you have to re-certify every 5 years.

Lance Watsky
Preservation & Media Specialist
The Georgia Archives
5800 Jonesboro Road
Morrow, GA 30260
678-364-3764 (phone)
678-364-3860 (fax)
lwatsky@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.GeorgiaArchives.org




-----Original Message-----
From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
[mailto:ARSCLIST@xxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Eric Jacobs
Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 2004 5:04 PM
To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Certification


George Brock-Nannestad <pattac@xxxxxxxx> writes

> As to Certification: this is used in many fields,
guaranteeing a minimum
> ability to perform a service or job. However for at least
30 years it will be
> inefficient, because the certifying body is created by the
group of people
> that will become certified, and no-one would be willing to
subject themselves
> to tests. So we will have many certified persons who are
so due to the
> "Grandfather Clause", and that is no guarantee. Only the
young would be
> forced to take the tests.

These two loop-holes can easily be closed.

1.  All those certified must take the exam.  No
grandfathering can apply here.  Grandfathering can allow
existing professionals to by-pass classes, training, and
internships, but it cannot be a substitute for the exam
itself.

2.  The certification body should require the strong
participation of the customers, those using the services of
archivists.  If the certifying body is run exclusively by
archivists, it would be a case of the fox gaurding the hen
house.  By engaging the customers in certification, they
will be better educated as well, and will be more inclined
to use certified services.

Furthermore, certification should have a "continuing
education" aspect - you aren't certified forever.  You need
to keep up with the latest practices as "best practices" get
better.

In an earlier email to this group, I asked the question if
certification could be justified for this industry.  This
included the sub-question of whether the customers (the
archives) have sufficient knowledge to identify, assess, and
select appropriate service providers, or if archives really
needed a certification process to obtain high quality and
consistent results.  To me, that's the pivotal question -
certification needs to fulfill a real customer need,
otherwise it will never happen.  Everything else is putting
the cart before the horse.

This question of "need" aside, I'm in favor of certification
because in theory it will: (a) raise the awareness of
archives on preservation issues; (b) grow the supply of
qualified archivists; and (c) hopefully lead to more
material being preserved.


Eric Jacobs
The Audio Archive