Public Services Education for Archivists

Abstract

Is the public service ethos of archivists lacking, and what can be done about it in archival education programs? The author examines these questions in the light of the education guidelines issued by professional associations in the United States and Canada. He discusses the place of public services education in the larger context of professional formation of archivists, and in particular in relation to the principles guiding archivists in their service to the public. He then sketches the scope of public services, and analyzes the objectives, content, and methodologies of a course on the subject. In a final section, he looks at the question of students' conduct of research on the subject. He argues that supposed weaknesses of the archival service ethic can best be overcome and the peculiar difficulties archivists face in rendering reference and public services can best be addressed in a single course in the context of a program of study such as is called for by the Society of American Archivists and the Association of Canadian Archivists.