Cal Lee's Advising Notes for SILS Students Interested in Archives and Records Management (ARM)

This document provides general advising notes for students in the School of Information and Library Science (SILS) at UNC, Chapel Hill, who are interested in pursing careers in archives, special collections, records management or digital curation. This does not represent a set of formal requirements for the school, but is instead a summary of things I've told students enough times that I thought it should go into a single document.

In relation to digital curation education, we're currently undertaking a project, DigCCurr, which is developing guidance on courses and field experiences.

If you add up the credit hours for the classes I'm advising, you will find:

1. You can pursue either the MSIS or MSLS degree.

Preparation for a career in archives and records management is NOT associated specifically with either one of the masters degrees at SILS.

2. Take your required classes early.

It is a very good idea for you to complete the courses required for the SILS degree early in your time here. There are at least four important reasons for this:

1. Required classes provide important background knowledge that will be helpful in later classes.
2. Some later classes require the core classes as formal prerequisites.
3. Jobs and practical field experiences will often call for knowledge and skills that you've gained from the core classes.
4. The logistics of scheduling your classes later in the program will be much easier if you have the required classes out of the way. You won't have to worry about getting locked out of a required class that's been filled up, and you'll have more flexibility in fitting appropriate electives into your schedule.

3. Treat Introduction to Archives and Records Management (INLS 556) as one of your required classes.

Although it's not required for either the MSIS or MSLS degree, you should consider INLS 556 to be one of the classes you need to complete in your first year, for all of the reasons listed in #2 above.

4. If you're pursuing the MSLS degree, consider whether you should take INLS 520 in place of INLS 521.

SILS allows students seeking the MSLS degree to take INLS 520 (Organization of Information) in place of INLS 521 (Organization of Materials), provided it makes sense for their intended career path and they obtain advisor approval. Both classes are about how to classify and organize materials, but they differ somewhat in content and focus. We can talk about your career goals and identify which class might be a better fit.

5. Take at least one class related to each of the core archival functions.

The following list represents 18/18.5 credit hours (MSIS) or 18.5 credit hours (MSLS), but 3 or 3.5 (respectively) of those hours will have been completed as part of the core requirements for the MSIS (INLS 582) or MSLS (INLS 501) degree.

• Reference, Access and User Services - at least one of the following:
• Access, Outreach, and Public Service in Cultural Heritage Repositories (INLS 754) - Explores user needs, information seeking behaviors, and provision of access to primary source materials in archives, manuscript repositories, and museums. User education and outreach are major focuses. (3 Credits)
• Information Resources and Services (INLS 501) - Analysis, use, and evaluation of information and reference systems, services, and tools with attention to printed and electronic modes of delivery. Provides a foundation in search techniques for electronic information retrieval, question negotiation, and interviewing. (3.5 Credits, including required lab section)
• Electronic Records Management (INLS 525) - Explores relationships between new information and communication technologies and organizational efforts to define, identify, control, manage, and preserve records. Considers the importance of organizational, institutional and technological factors in determining appropriate recordkeeping strategies.
• Preservation - at least one of the following
• Digital Preservation and Access (INLS 752) - Focuses on best practices for the creation, provision, and long-term preservation of digital entities. Topics include digitization technologies; standards and quality control: digital asset management; grant writing; and metadata.
• Preservation of Library and Archive Materials (INLS 753) - An introduction to current practices, issues, and trends in the preservation of materials for libraries and archives with an emphasis on integrating preservation throughout an institution's operations.
• Archival Appraisal (INLS 755) - Explores the history, theories, techniques, and methods that archivists use to identify documents and other materials of enduring value for long-term preservation.
• Principles and Practices in Archival Description (INLS 757) - Explores the history, principles, development, and use of archival description with a focus on Encoded Archival Description (EAD) and MARC structures. Presents authority and subject analysis work and description for special formats.
• Systems Analysis (INLS 582) - Introduction to the systems approach to the design and development of information systems. Methods and tools for the analysis and modeling of system functionality (e.g., structured analysis) and data represented in the system (e.g., object-oriented analysis) are studied.

6. Suggested electives.

The following are classes that can be very useful in informing your thinking and practice in ARM:

• Digital Curation: Applications and Challenges (890-046)
• Introduction to Database Concepts and Applications (INLS 523) - Design and implementation of database systems. Semantic modeling, relational database theory, including normalization, indexing and query construction, SQL.
• XML (INLS 890-126) - This class will cover the basics of XML's rules and syntax and then go on to explore related topics like XHTML, RSS, AJAX, OpenDocument, SVG, transforming XML, printing XML, XML for documents, and XML for data. Students should have a basic knowledge of HTML and web page creation, including CSS. Database and scripting experience would be useful, but is not required.
• Project Management: Strategy and Practice (490-144)
• Metadata Architectures and Applications (INLS 720) - Examines metadata in the digital environment. Emphasizes the development and implementation of metadata schemas in distinct information communities and the standards and technological applications used to create machine understandable metadata.
• Advanced Issues & Practices in Archives and Manuscripts Administration (INLS 756) - Examines issues in the administration of archival, manuscripts, and records programs. Explores how theory relates to professional practice. Students process a collection from appraisal through creation of an electronic finding aid.
• Digital Libraries: Principles and Applications (INLS 740) - Research and development issues in digital libraries, including collection development and digitization; mixed mode holdings; access strategies and interfaces; metadata and interoperability; economic and social policies; and management and evaluation.
• Seminar in Digital Curation (INLS 890-150) - Seminar explores range of issues central to digital curation and trustworthy repositories including appraisal, audit and certification, standards, metadata, intellectual property rights, risk management, preservation strategies, and reuse of data. Student interest will determine specific focus of class.
• Seminar in Rare Book Collections (INLS 857) - A study of the nature and importance of rare book collections; problems of acquisition, organization, and service.

Last Updated: 2007-09-24