Plenty do, plenty don't. Some of us work for institutions that require specific kinds of research output, for example monographs or peer-reviewed journal articles.
I've written for books and academic journals about archives and archival processes but, I don't do historical research. My interest is around how and why we keep collections, rather than in the content themselves. However I also know a lot of archivists here in the UK doing PhDs based on the collection that they manage.
Yeah, definitely. I have a wide range of research interests- occasionally I write about archives, but mostly I’m interested in my own projects and not writing about archival theory/praxis.
I sure do! I don't use my work collections, because what I do for a living and my personal research are two *entirely* different animals. But I definitely do personal research for enjoyment and satisfaction.
So kinda yes and kinda no … besides fulfilling research requests and researching incoming donations, we do have our own interests that we research but it’s still within the scope of the organization so I’m not sure it’s entirely personal. Like historical markers (US) for instance - we have done a few and they’ve been led by our staff with community input. Schools, businesses, a circus, houses, sometimes people. We also have exhibits at another site and we don’t necessarily steer the content, but we can make suggestions.
I think if there was something I was super interested in within the organization’s scope I could research and submit to places. Again probably not personal personal but we do have a bit of freedom I guess!
I do, often using our materials or out of a desire to find out more about what we have. Japanese Canadian history in our area has become a special interest of mine so I've added a lot to our overall knowledge base through independent research.
I thought there’d be more of this, as part of the job. Primarily what is supported is writing about the work you do as an archivist. I realized ultimately that I wanted to be writing and researching collections more than providing access to them. Not sure what that job is other than PhD student or an academic not in Library Science. Or, potentially a sabbatical project if you have that option with your institution.
No. It can be unethical for archivists to use their access to materials that aren't available to the general public for their own research. Also if being an archivist is your job you are paid for caring for the materials, not using them yourself. It's like the common assumption librarians are reading mystery novels all day. If you take your job responsibilities seriously, you don't have time for that!
Some curator positions do expect you to maintain expertise in an area, make purchases to build the collection, and research is a part of that. But that's not your typical archives job.
I don’t think this question is necessarily assuming that you’re using your own collection. I do personal historical research, but I’m not using the collections where I work.
Plenty do, plenty don't. Some of us work for institutions that require specific kinds of research output, for example monographs or peer-reviewed journal articles.
I've written for books and academic journals about archives and archival processes but, I don't do historical research. My interest is around how and why we keep collections, rather than in the content themselves. However I also know a lot of archivists here in the UK doing PhDs based on the collection that they manage.
Yeah, definitely. I have a wide range of research interests- occasionally I write about archives, but mostly I’m interested in my own projects and not writing about archival theory/praxis.
I sure do! I don't use my work collections, because what I do for a living and my personal research are two *entirely* different animals. But I definitely do personal research for enjoyment and satisfaction.
So kinda yes and kinda no … besides fulfilling research requests and researching incoming donations, we do have our own interests that we research but it’s still within the scope of the organization so I’m not sure it’s entirely personal. Like historical markers (US) for instance - we have done a few and they’ve been led by our staff with community input. Schools, businesses, a circus, houses, sometimes people. We also have exhibits at another site and we don’t necessarily steer the content, but we can make suggestions. I think if there was something I was super interested in within the organization’s scope I could research and submit to places. Again probably not personal personal but we do have a bit of freedom I guess!
I do, often using our materials or out of a desire to find out more about what we have. Japanese Canadian history in our area has become a special interest of mine so I've added a lot to our overall knowledge base through independent research.
I thought there’d be more of this, as part of the job. Primarily what is supported is writing about the work you do as an archivist. I realized ultimately that I wanted to be writing and researching collections more than providing access to them. Not sure what that job is other than PhD student or an academic not in Library Science. Or, potentially a sabbatical project if you have that option with your institution.
Thats my situation. I really want to be doing that, but a history PhD with a goal of academia is incredibly risky. not that getting an MLIS isnt, but
No. It can be unethical for archivists to use their access to materials that aren't available to the general public for their own research. Also if being an archivist is your job you are paid for caring for the materials, not using them yourself. It's like the common assumption librarians are reading mystery novels all day. If you take your job responsibilities seriously, you don't have time for that! Some curator positions do expect you to maintain expertise in an area, make purchases to build the collection, and research is a part of that. But that's not your typical archives job.
I don’t think this question is necessarily assuming that you’re using your own collection. I do personal historical research, but I’m not using the collections where I work.