Society of Archivists

The Society of Archivists is the principal professional body for archivists, archive conservators and records managers in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was originally founded in 1947 as the Society of Local Archivists but changed its name to its current version in 1954 due to its membership expanding beyond archivists working in local government.

Aims

The organisation is constituted as a registered charity with the express aim to:
*Foster the care and preservation of archives in the public interest and to promote the better administration of archive repositories
*Advance the professional education and training of Archivists, Archive Conservators and Records Managers and those engaged in related activities
*Commission and support research into the creation, use, administration and conservation of archives and the development of new techniques and the publication of the useful results of such research.

Membership

It has over 2000 members ("as of December 2006"), mainly made up of professional archivists, records managers and archive conservators from all the different types of organisations that employ such professionals. Through an affiliate membership scheme, those who work at a paraprofessional level or who are generally interested in the work of the Society and its members can join. There is also a student membership option for those who are studying for a professional qualification in archives, records management or archive conservation.

tructure

The membership is divided into eleven regions that span the whole of the UK and Ireland, each with their own regional committee. Seven special interest groups also exist within the organisation’s structure, representing members’ different employment backgrounds and/or concerns. It is managed by a Council, which is partially elected every two years, along with a number of committees and sub committees relating to specific areas of business. It also has an office in Taunton, Somerset, which deals with the day to day administration of the organisation.

Publications

A biannual publication entitled the "Journal of the Society of Archivists", which covers professional issues, is produced for its members as well as a monthly newsletter, called "ARC" (Archives, records Management, Conservation), and a fortnightly recruitment supplement called "ARC Recruitment". Periodically more in depth guides on particular types of records or professional issues are produced and made available for members to purchase.

Training

In terms of professional training for archives and records management, the Society accredits externally provided postgraduate diploma/degree programmes, of which there are currently six; three in England and one each in Wales, Scotland and Ireland. A distance-learning diploma in Archives Administration used to be run by the Society itself but this was discontinued in 2001.

For Archive Conservation, the Society runs a "Certificate in Archive Conservation" as an in-service scheme restricted to Society members only. It is also involved in the Professional Accreditation of Conservator-Restorers (PAC-R) scheme.

Other training events for members are organised by the Regional committees or Special Interest Groups of the Society and co-ordinated by the Society’s Training Officer.

All professional members are encouraged to participate in the Society’s Registration Scheme, which acts as a formal process of continued professional development. A register was first established in 1987, initially with a clause allowing professional members to be accepted automatically if they had been working in a recognised post for at least two years. This clause has now been closed and full completion of the present scheme, introduced in 1996, is now the only way to become a Registered Member of the Society of Archivists (RMSA). A separate Continuing Professional Development scheme is currently ("as of June 2006") being piloted for those members who are already Registered.

External links

* [http://www.archives.org.uk/ Official website]