What is an archivist?
Q: What is an archivist?
A: An archivist is a professional who collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to information determined to have long-term value.
Q: What kind of information can an archivist maintain?
A: An archivist can maintain any form of media (photographs, video or sound recordings, letters, documents, electronic records, etc.).
Q: What is the role of an archivist?
A: The role of an archivist is to keep records that have enduring value as reliable memories of the past and help people find and understand the information they need in those records.
Q: What is the selection process for records by archivists?
A: Archivists must select records valuable enough to justify the costs of storage and preservation, plus the labor-intensive expenses of arrangement, description, and reference service.
Q: Why is it not always easy to determine what records have enduring value?
A: It is not always easy to determine what records have enduring value because determining the worth of a record requires analysis of its context, content, and significance.
Q: What is the scholarly work underpinning archives practices called?
A: The theory and scholarly work underpinning archives practices is called archival science.
Q: What are some of the expenses related to providing access to information maintained by an archivist?
A: Some of the expenses related to providing access to information maintained by an archivist are storage and preservation costs, as well as labor-intensive expenses of arrangement, description, and reference service.
