This is just a quick note to thank all those who replied to my queries re a)
charging for services nd b) microfilm versus microfiche. The response was
terrific, and though there was sadly not a consensus on either problem, I am
now a much better informed archivist and will be able to put something
useful together for the powers that be.
Have just been reading about the lack of applications for jobs. Could one
reason be that the pay is relatively lousy considering all the
qualifications and experience we have to have (my assistant, for example,
gets paid about the same as the office cleaner and no, there's nothing I can
do about it) and so anyone with kids/mortgage/dreams about foreign holidays
is leaving to do something else (short term contracts are also useless if
you want to get a mortgage)? There's no way I'd go into a career as an
archivist if I were just starting out, and that's a shame because I really
love my job/s, as I think do most of us.
Clare Cowling
RCOG and IALS Archivist
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