Erm... hello?

I do wish the other archivist members in this group would dig themselves up out of their piles of stuff to come post with me! Hope to talk to you soon.

Hey, Audacity, no problems here, whats up? What can you tell me about your work?

Oh, now I feel like an attention seeker. :P But, it's good that there's at least one other archivist!

I'm currently sorting thorough 30 years of correspondence, trying to read sloppy signatures. It's part of the collection of papers belonging to Michigan poet Jim Daniels. It's good I like a challenge!

What are you up to, liamfoley?

Hello! I decided to check this community on a whim and just happened to do so the day after Audacity posted--so I think that means I need to join in the posting. :)

Reading sloppy signatures sounds like it might make your head hurt. Have you found anything interesting while going though it all?

Well archivewise I am working on some family stuff, I am also preparing for returning to study in Sept. The family stuff consists mostly of my grandfathers papers from WWI and his brother's letters from Gallipoli etc. The National Archives have decided to put some of their collection online, for free. So I have been checking census entries for people from 1901 & 1911,http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/about/index.html, I am considering doing my thesis on digitization so I find it very interesting.

4> Not a whole lot of exciting things, so far. I found a sheath of letters between Daniels and the famous poet, Philip Larkin. That was pretty neat! More than anything, I'm trying to figure out who "Charles" is. No last name, no return address, and handwriting that is near-impossible to make out!

5> I love working with family papers! There's always a treasure trove of good stories. And, thanks for the link - very cool!

What sort of input are you looking for? I'm mostly good for annoying researcher stories.

What interests me is just making contact with people who work in the profession, and getting an idea about the job situation in the US. It was in the US that I first got interested (more from the perspective of a historian than a librarian) and would like to return there when I am finished my education. The degree I am taking is in Archives AND records management so I would be qualified to work in corporate records if my ideal job of work in historical records did not materialize.

I feel like an absolute hypocrite for creating this thread and then abandoning it. I'm a foster parent with the humane society, and I've been bogged down by puppies for the last few weeks.

As for the job situation in the US, I'm not a very good source of information. I'm still an undergrad history/english major. Plus, I live in Michigan, the state of crumbling hopes and dreams. But, I too would like to hear if there is any hope for archivists around the country, as well as around the world!

>8 liamfoley: liamfoley
Here's the url for the Society of American Archivists... http://www.archivists.org/ They have job postings under the 'archives profession' tab. There are more opportunies for someone who is willing to move to where ever a job is located versus choosing a location and then trying to find a position. Best wishes for your future!

Audacity - there is always hope for archivists. There is so much future in working in conjunction with RM, electronic records, format transfers, scanning/digital projects, the sky is the limit. Take advantage of opportunities to intern or volunteer in various places, different size repositories and different positions, and you'll naturally figure out what part of Archives you love doing. Exhibits, Outreach, Cataloguing, Electronics.

Jobs - may not be as prolific and open as Engineering or Computer Software design, but with a little networking, building up your resume one job at a time, and not being confined to one local area (being able to move regionally if need to) then you should be able to get settled in and develop your career.

Archives needs some good Advocates to spread the message to resource allocators in the language they understand.

Well my profs address us as students 'archivists' so I guess I must be an archivist. Also, the National Archives are having Archives Awareness Month so I know where I'll be this Saturday.http://www.nationalarchives.ie/

Very quiet, anyone want to talk about the weather?

The weather here is rather wintery, nowadays. Hope its warmer wherever you may be!

Very sweet! I think I was trying to be funny. Are we all down in our strong rooms cataloging?

Scanning.

>16 Islandgal: Glaring at a pile of rolled maps which need better cataloguing and storage.