----- Original Message ----- 
From: <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, August 04, 2006 10:10 AM
Subject: Public and Private

> So, in an attempt to promote an atmosphere of healthy discussion, and as
it
> is Friday, I would like to raise an issue.

> Some of us here in the business sector (and I do not claim to speak for
> everyone) feel that the division between public sector archivists and
those
> in the private sector is widening.  We suspect this is because of the
> funding now available to public sector colleagues and the emphasis that
> funding often places on access and inclusion.  Additionally, public sector
> archives are increasingly being placed within the heritage/library sector
of
> their organisations, while private sector archives are more likely to be
> found reporting to the Company Secretary, in what could be seen as the
more
> traditional role of archives.
>
> I am not claiming that one is better than the other, but I am interested
to
> know what others think.
> Do you agree, and what are your thoughts on why this is happening?
> Do you think it's a good or bad thing?
> Can you see a time when the profession is completely divided, with people
> finding it difficult to move from one sector to the other?
>
> All replies on list please.
>
> Maria Sienkiewicz
> Barclays Group Archivist

Well, it's good to see some reactions - I make that fourteen online
responses, zero private communications and eleven Out-of-Office-AutoReplies!

I think it's almost inevitable that many employers in business and employers
(or councillors?) in local government are going to have different objectives
and to work from different assumptions.  And yes, after working in one
sector for a few years, it will probably be quite difficult to move to a
middle-management or a relatively senior management position in another
(since one is probably competing against other candidates with more direct
experience of the requirements of the particular sector).

Good or bad?  Well, one might equally ask whether it's a good thing or a bad
thing if a senior manager from a non-archival background is appointed to
head one of the larger archive institutions [e.g. ... ?].  It depends on
your standpoint and what you see as the ultimate objectives for the
particular repository - and I don't suppose you are going to find universal
agreement either way (not even on this list).

> In the interests of adding to the debate about the issue Paul raises of
> complacency within the profession in the face of a changing landscape, I
> thought some of you may be interested to read a research study carried out
> in Australia which looked at archivists and their temperaments
http://www.archivists.org.au/events/conf99/pederson.html#arch
> Katie Norgrove

I wonder whether UK archivists would be significantly different?  I rather
doubt it.  And what about the implications?  Is there still scope within
archives for many different types of temperament?

It seems to me that currently the greatest change in the archival landscape
is digitisation, with widening public expectations that information will
have to be made available online, anyway.  There are obvious examples like
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/ (doubtless boosted by
recent publicity concerning the Domesday Book).   There are instances of
scanned images of parish registers and other local records now going
online too - as in Medway Archives http://cityark.medway.gov.uk/.  Most
good quality microfilm can now be converted relatively easily into digital
images.  This is bound to bring significant differences in the role of
archivists in the not too distant future, with funding driven by different
priorities.   Won't that mean that alternative skills could then be in
greatest demand?  Will some people then regard the co-ordination of the
digitisation programme as the primary task?

Incidentally, I wouldn't deny that Archives-NRA has a useful role in
information sharing.  .

Aidan Jones,
Cumbria Record Office & Local Studies Library, Barrow.