Archival Census and Education Needs Survey in the United States
n. (abbr. A*CENSUS)a detailed census of the archivists of the United States conducted in 2004, led by the Society of American Archivists, and funded by the Institute for Museum and Library ScienceWilson 2003, 147The A*CENSUS results are not yet compiled as of this writing, but a 1998 survey of archives and archivists has shown that a large percentage of archives is small, with staff sizes of one or two professionals.Walch et al. 2006, 294The A*CENSUS—Archival Census and Education Needs Survey in the United States—is the first broadscale survey of individual archivists in the United States in nearly thirty years. The survey, conducted by mail and online during a two-month period in 2004, asked archivists about their positions, employers, demographics, credentials, job functions and specialization, salaries, career paths, issues, professional identity, and affiliation. There were additional questions for those with management responsibilities, and specific questions for members of certain professional associations.Gottlieb 2011, 27–28As the A*Census enumeration of archivists has shown, a large proportion of us belong to more than one association.Love and Ramos 2014, 5Part 6 of the 2006 “A*CENSUS (Archival Census and Education Needs Survey in the United States),” Brenda Banks’s “Report on Diversity,” revealed the slow progress toward increasing diversity within the profession.
Notes
At its November 2018 meeting, SAA Council approved creation of a task force to pre-plan the next iteration of A*CENSUS (Archival Census and Education Needs Survey in the United States), which was last conducted in 2004. SAA President Meredith Evans noted that, “Both the profession and the association will benefit significantly from having updated information on archivists’ work settings, salaries, education levels, and more.”
