Publication Date
January 1990
Abstract
Rookie university archivists are ill-prepared for the responsibilities entailed in the management of an academic archives. First, there is the unique institutional setting. The unusual and varied systems of university governance make strict adherence to the paradigms for archival arrangement and description impractical at times. Second, and more vexing, is the fact that few college and university archivists are intellectually prepared. Unless the archivist is a devoted alumnus, he or she must first study the institution's history, mythology, and cultural traditions. But what of the larger academic world? Unfortunately, most archivists know little about the development of American higher education even when they have spent years in college studying for a career in history.