Archivists, Electronic Records, and the Modern Information Age: Re-examining Archival Institutions and Education in the United States, with Special Attention to State Archives and State Archivists

Since the mid-1960s, archivists in the United States have been engaged in the challenge of managing records created by electronic information systems. Despite three decades of activity, few archival institutions have developed programs to administer and preserve these special records. This study is an effort to understand why American archivists seem to have fared so poorly in the administration of electronic records by re-examining two major aspects of the archival profession: its institutional forms and structures (position descriptions and advertisements) and its educational foundations (graduate and continuing education programs). The primary research question being scrutinized in this study is this: Is the archival profession prepared to carry out its mission in the modern electronic information technology environment?

This study concludes that the archival profession in the United States has not done well in structuring itself to manage electronic records. Five aspects of this American professional community suggest this conclusion. First, the professional literature seems to lack consensus on the nature of the impact of electronic records on archival theory and practice and how such records should be administered. Second, state government archives' position descriptions do not generally reflect knowledge and skill requirements needed for the management of electronic records. Third, there were virtually no job advertisements from 1976 through 1990 for electronic records specialists. Fourth, graduate archival education programs have offered only a few full courses on electronic records management, and the size and nature of these programs provide little opportunity for educating future archivists in electronic records work. Fifth, and finally, the advanced institute on electronic records and information policy offered to state government archivists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Library and Information Science from 1989 through 1992 suggests some of the weaknesses in the archival profession's reliance on continuing education for electronic records administration training.

Despite the findings of this study, however, there are recent indications that the American archival profession is improving its ability to deal with electronic records. New publications, courses, programs, and research grant funds have appeared in the early 1990s. The impact of these recent developments on the American archivist's management of electronic records is, however, too early to determine.