 |
Guidelines for Archival Continuing Education (ACE)
Adopted by the Council of the Society of American Archivists,
November 3, 2006.
Introduction
Archival continuing education (ACE) assists individuals in meeting personal and
professional goals by providing knowledge that is relevant to the archival profession
beyond the formal structure of education institutions. In addition, ACE must connect
with individual archivists in all phases of their careers by providing basic to advanced
programs in all areas of archival knowledge.
The purpose of these guidelines is to encourage the creation of opportunities for lifelong
learning within the archival community.
These guidelines were developed for individuals and organizations that provide or
sponsor archival continuing education. They may also be useful to others, such as
individual archivists, employers, archival educators, accrediting agencies, and any others
who fund, oversee, support, work with, or use archives or who participate in archival
continuing education.
Audiences
Archival continuing education programs should address the standard areas of archival
knowledge, adapted from the Society of American Archivists Guidelines for a Graduate
Program in Archival Studies (GPAS) and the Academy of Certified Archivists (ACA)
domains:
- General Archival Knowledge: The theory and history of archives and the archival
profession; social and cultural history; the life cycle of records and papers;
relationships to allied professions; familiarity with professional standards and best
practices; and use of appropriate research methodologies and technological solutions.
- Selection, Appraisal, and Acquisition: The theory, policies, and procedures that
archivists use to identify, evaluate, acquire, and authenticate records and papers of
enduring value in all media and formats.
- Arrangement and Description: The intellectual and physical organization or
verification of archival records and papers in all media and formats, and the development of descriptive tools and systems that provide both control of and access
to collections.
- Reference Services and Access: The development and implementation of policies,
procedures, and practices designed to serve the information needs of the various user
groups, both onsite and virtually.
- Preservation and Protection: The integration and implementation of administration
activities to ensure the physical protection and authentication of records and papers in
all media and formats and to assure their continued accessibility to researchers.
- Outreach, Advocacy, and Promotion: The theories, practices, and technologies that
archivists use to create and market programs that promote increased use, resources,
visibility, and support for their institutions and collections among a broad range of
audiences, both onsite and virtually.
- Managing Archival Programs: The principles and practices that archivists use to
facilitate all aspects of archival work through careful planning and administration of
the repository and its institutional resources.
- Ethical and Legal Responsibilities: The laws, regulations, institutional policies, and
ethical standards that are applicable to the archival community.
Also appropriate are programs addressing specialized topics such as formats, media, or
repository type. All programs should address the latest developments and technologies, as
appropriate, and incorporate best practices in the knowledge areas.
Different options for program formats and venues are available. The goal should be to
match them to the needs of participants and topics being taught. Programs may include,
but are not limited to, workshops, seminars, institutes, in-house training programs,
professional association meetings, and distance learning.
Curricular material must be appropriate to the subject, duration, delivery mechanism, and
audience that it is intended to address. Program developers will create curricula based on
identified needs. This information can be gathered from such feedback mechanisms as
evaluations and surveys.
Program developers and instructors should evaluate both specific continuing education
programs and the total range of programs offered over time, using recognized assessment
methods and formal evaluation instruments.
Evolution of the ACE Guidelines
A field as complex and rapidly changing as the archival profession requires effective
continuing education and training. In 1997, SAA adopted “Guidelines for the
Development of Post-Appointment and Continuing Education and Training Programs” (PACE) which had as its basis the Guidelines for a Graduate Program in Archival Studies
(GPAS) guidelines. The ACE Guidelines resulted from a scheduled review and revision
of PACE in 2005 – 2006. The ACE Guidelines incorporate information from SAA’s
2002 GPAS guidelines and the Academy of Certified Archivists’ 2003 Role Delineation
Statement Revision.
Appended to these guidelines are materials intended to serve as a general “toolkit” to aid
continuing education providers and users in developing and preparing to attend
continuing education offerings:
Appendix 1: Continuing Education “Wants” and Needs Based on A*CENSUS and ACRL Surveys.
Appendix 2: Recommended Instructor Qualifications
Appendix 3: List of Effective Delivery Formats
Appendix 4: Guidelines for Evaluating Continuing Education Programs
Appendix 5: Curriculum Development (Objectives, Work Application, Measurable
Outcomes)
|
|
