HIST 405: Public History introduction to Special Collections and Archives

The primary professional organization for archivists, SAA's website includes publications, job postings, educational opportunities, etc.

The American Library Association accredits programs in library and information science. This includes programs that offer concentrations in archives, special collections, and rare books. In the past it wasn't uncommon for those with Master's degrees in history, especially public history, or museum studies to easily qualify for jobs as archivists. The trend is shifting toward a preference for those with an ALA-accredited information science degree, especially as digitization and archival management systems have changed how archival information is managed.

The majority of archival positions do not require certification from the ACA. However, some positions, such as those at state archives, may require certification for continued employment or advancement. Also, it's common for those who do not have an ALA-accredited Master's degree in information science to need an ACA certification in addition to their public history or museum studies degree to prove their proficiency in archival processes.

Rare Book School is primarily hosted at the University of Virginia (with some classes held in Washington DC, New York City, Philadelphia, etc.) and offers courses on a wide variety of topics related to rare books and archives. Topics include bindings, typography, digital humanities, archival management, illuminated manuscripts, rare book cataloging, and many more.

California Rare Book School is rare book school for the west coast. Their courses cover similar topics to RBS (bindings, illustrations, illuminated manuscripts, archives, teaching, etc.) but are taught at UCLA (University of California at Los Angeles).

This blog aggregates job announcements in the archival field from various sources with the assistance of anyone who wants to send in postings. It's a great place to browse the types of archives-related job descriptions and get a sense for the types of jobs, what they pay, where they're located, and what they require in terms of education and skills.

The Open Palace Programmes are geared primarily toward upcoming museum professionals but also include topics relevant to those studying rare books or archives. The programs allow participants to go behind the scenes at historic homes, palaces, castles, museums, and other heritage sites in England, Scotland, and Ireland (new in 2020). The focus is not only on learning from the professionals who manage these sites but also on helping them consider alternative approaches to specific challenges such as building and furnishings preservation, managing family archives, gardening, site planning, exhibition design, label writing, and many others. I have personally participated in the Scotland program and can vouch for the overall quality of the experience.

The Digital Humanities Summer Institute offers courses to discuss and learn about new computing technologies and how they are influencing teaching, research, dissemination, creation, and preservation in different humanities disciplines.

The Society of American Archivists provides courses (for a fee), both in person and online, on basic archival processes and on digital archiving. The courses and certificates they offer can be a good way to enhance existing experience for the purposes of employment or understand the skills important to the profession.

The Society of Rocky Mountain Archivists hosts conferences once or twice a year, as well as continuing education opportunities. Even if you don't join, you can look through their newsletters and check the website for opportunities to learn skills.

The National Archives and Records Administration has created worksheets to help students learn how to analyze and compare primary source documents of different types. These worksheets can help you practice thinking like a historian with guided questions (which also helps you prepare to work in archives and to teach others how to analyze primary sources).