Public History Career

I have been interning at the Idaho State Historical museum now for over a year. I have always been interested in the difference between archival work versus museum studies. I do not think I would enjoy working with documents as I do artifacts. I chose to interview research assistant Elizabeth Shaver at the Idaho State Archives. What follows is her interview with my questions and her answers in italics and then my thoughts one each answer in comparison to my intern experience.

What path did you take to get to you current position? Did it require a certain degree or internship?

 

 I have a degree in Museum Studies/Art Education from CSU Monterey Bay and am working on a Masters of Applied Science in Security Administration at the University of Denver. I did an internship with the Fort Ord Museum and Archives before graduating and taking a position at the Monterey Museum of Art and then moved onto the City of Monterey’s Artifact Specialist. I moved to Boise and saw a position offered with the Idaho State Archives as a research assistant.
 
I am always been interested in the other majors that universities offer. Museum studies/ art education sounds very specialized. I think it would be difficult to find a job with that specific degree. Her answer though illustrates the variety of occupations open to that degree. Her masters degree is “applied” which I loved. To me the “applied” studies give a hands on experience that, I think, a lot of employers are looking for. Internships give the on the job training that you are expected to know once hired.

What kind of projects do you work on?

I work on patron requests into family and general subject information as well as fulfilling the requests of city, state, and county agencies for records. Also, I work on the disaster and emergency response plans for the Idaho State Archives.

 

 This is exactly the answer I would see from the registrars I work with at the museum, public interaction to internal requests with the historical society. This has always appealed to me because it is an assortment of projects. I like to always be working on something new constantly.


What kinds of people (demographics, occupations, ect.) do you typically work with?

 

I work with the general public, professional researchers, and employees of different government agencies.

 

Again, this is similar to the museum field.

 
Do you have autonomy to pick your own projects, or are projects generally assigned to you by others in you organization or elsewhere?

I have some input in the projects that I work on, but the majority of projects outside of research requests are assigned to me by my supervisor.

 

 If I had the chance to interview other occupations in the field of history, I would be interested to find one that allowed for autonomy to your own projects. While I enjoy working with the public and other researchers it would be nice to have a project going that was vested in my interest and hopefully by employer’s interest as well.

 

What are current issues in your field?

 

Management of electronic records is a major topic of conversation in the archives field.

 

 This is also so an issue for the museum. We have to not only convert our records to electronic, but keep our electronic programs up to date. This way they are more user friendly and would encourage more public use. 


What skills are expected of applicants for an entry-level position?

 

I would expect that an entry-leveled position candidate has a fundamental understanding of how to process and catalogue a collection. Knowledge of electronic records management is also essential. A candidate to have public speaking and customer service skills to be able to work with the general public and be able to clear explain what an archives is.

 

 In the field of history, and other fields I am sure, an internship is invaluable to job training. Not only does it familiarize you with the cataloguing systems set up, but should introduce you to electronic record management.  I believe what she is saying is that an internship enables am entry level candidate with the confidence to explain the field that they want to work in. I like that she noted customer service. I think customer service “phone jobs” are overlooked as a valuable skill. My undergraduate education was paid for by my customer service job. I went through numerous paid trainings on how to handle the general public from calming down a tense situation to conveying a point in a concise manner. I would argue that these skills are needed for any “applied” field that wants to engage the public.

What level of education is necessary for advancement to the different levels of this profession? Are there special degrees that are favored, and if so what they?

 

A masters degree is essential to advance in this field. The preferred course of study would be in Information and Library Sciences focusing on Archives or masters in IT administration. Any field of study should include electronic records management and the function and structure of government.

 

I think it is interesting that she mentions an IT degree here. It shows the field of history trying to embrace technology. It would not surprise me to see IT classes as required courses for any major in the near future. It could be argued that it is needed now. Advancement in any field seems linked to education combined with technology level.
 
What advise do you have for people interested in entering this field?

 

The best advice I can give is to participate in professional organizations and make professional contacts.

Get yourself known. Again this is something that is gained via internship opportunities in my opinion. This interview illustrated to me that variety of jobs out there for the field of history/ museum studies and the path that will help you get there.