Lifelong and Modular Education for Archival Professionals

Abstract

Purpose: Archival professionals in archival institutions, records managers at organizations that create archival material, and employees of archival service providers face numerous professional challenges and the associated decision-making processes. This raises the question of whether they possess the professional and operational competence to make responsible decisions and provide expert advice on comprehensive records management within rapidly evolving physical, hybrid, or electronic environments. The primary aim of this paper is to determine the essential profiles and skill sets required for archival professionals. It addresses how to acquire and enhance professional archival expertise and what type of educational system should be pursued to ensure that the results of archival work are ethically sound, as well as sustainable and useful in the long term.

Method / approach: The paper presents a conceptual and interdisciplinary analysis based on a narrative examination of archival literature, relevant regulations, and selected sources from organizational and educational psychology, supplemented by professional experience in archival education and training. These sources inform a proposed modular lifelong education framework, which is examined through an author-developed qualitative SWOT analysis. The psychological component identifies proposed conditions supporting motivation, participation in learning, and the transfer of learning to practice. The framework has not been empirically tested.

Results: A conceptual framework for lifelong education is proposed for professionals working in archival institutions, records-creating organizations, and archival service providers. The framework connects degree programmes, shorter assessed learning opportunities leading to micro-credentials, and complementary non-formal learning. It aims to support professional specialization and the updating of knowledge across the records lifecycle. The psychological analysis identifies motivation, supportive learning relationships, and workplace conditions for applying acquired knowledge as important considerations in programme design. These are proposed features and implementation conditions, rather than demonstrated outcomes of an evaluated educational intervention.

Conclusions / findings: This paper presents a framework for the modular education of archival professionals at both operational and university levels. It is grounded in a study of archival subjects across all three academic cycles, complemented by a system of micro-credentials and various forms of non-formal education. This approach could support a flexible and efficient education system for archival professionals and records managers, with clearly defined quality assurance and recognition procedures and the capacity to adapt to the profession’s evolving needs. Simultaneously, it would ensure transparency regarding the specific professional competencies required in particular environments and the associated labor market. All of this would be achieved while upholding the highest standards of formal education and providing access to state-of-the-art resources for acquiring the knowledge and skills essential to modern archival theory and practice.