An Archivist, or Conservator, assembles, preserves, catalogues and manages historical information, images and other collections to determine their significance and value. Their main duties include deciding which historical items should be kept for public viewing, creating descriptions and organization guidelines for each collection piece and updating and maintaining an archival database.
A Archivist should be able to fulfill various duties and responsibilities. The following are some duties and responsibilities a Archivist should be able to execute:
- Analyze materials such as maps, films, documents and paintings, checking their authenticity, physical condition and historical content. By analyzing materials an Archivist is able to spot defects and determine if the material can be included in collections.
- Preserve collections correctly. Archivists are knowledgeable regarding storing and conservation techniques from various time periods. Certain material needs specific environmental conditions, so Archivists monitor the storage space and security to protect the materials.
- Archivists design and maintain organizational systems, keeping track of archived material. Most archived materials are stored on databases for easy usage and efficiency. Thus, the Archivist will prepare indexes, meta-tags and material descriptions and, where possible, convert material into digital format.
- Archivists make material available to the public through scans and copies. Generally, they’ll help persons who want to access the archives to retrieve information or do research.
- Archivists encourage the public to visit the archives through presentations, lectures, workshops, displays, exhibits or tours.
A competitive Archivist will have certain skills and qualifications, including:
- An Archivist decides which material should be preserved, thus, they need to be able to determine the importance, origin and history of the material they work with.
- An Archivist needs to access databases and other electronic management tools, so computer skills are vital.
Good communication: Archivists interact with the public, helping them retrieve information or providing lectures and presentations, being able to communicate well is important.
- Archivists need to store documents and records in a way that’s easily retrievable, developing logical systems for both themselves and the public to use.
- Much historical material needs to be analyzed and preserved, this means using the right chemicals and techniques according to the type of material such as a painting, documents, pottery or fabrics.
