Using archival skills in non-traditional settings

[Scott Ziegler]

One potential way to enhance the standing of archives and archivists
in the larger community (and maybe to find new and fun jobs) would be
to explore how the skills we learn in archival school can be used in
new environments.

One idea I've been thinking about is workshops for basic digital
preservation. By this I mean basic discussions of file formats and
backups, simple things that people can do to make it more likely their
digital lives are around for more than just a few years. This might be
of particular interest to genealogical societies.

Another important issue is community archives. I've been surprised by
the lack of literature on this in the U.S. Britain puts a decent
amount of money into it. See, for example, http://www.communityarchives.org.uk/.

Other ideas about how to use our skills in the larger world might be a
good place to start in thinking about what to do if we can't work in
the more traditional academic or historic settings.