During our final
class, we discussed the value of leadership within an archival institution.
After reading a paper written as a collaborative effort by many prominent
archivists entitled “Leadership Skills For Archivists” that addressed the
importance of leadership skills in number of different aspects of the archival
world. In class, we decided that the guidelines for good archival leadership
did not stray too far from what we might consider quality leadership skills for
any institution. While I agree with this assessment of the essay, I think Rand
Jimerson’s article within the paper, “Teaching Leadership” provides important
information for archival institution seeking to make their collections more
accessible to the public.
Jimerson, a
prominent archival theorist, has written extensively on how archives have
historically functioned as sites of power, holding documents that preserved
institutional power and the social construction of the nation state. Thus,
Jimerson presents important information regarding how to combat such
manifestations of power in his essay. While archives have served to enforce
various forms of hegemony in the past, they can also help to keep governments
accountable to their citizens to allowing open access to past documentation.
Jimerson suggests that archivists serve a vital role in in a democracy by
serving as the caretakers of government accountability. It is important that
archival leaders understand this role and uphold it accordingly.[1]
In this sense, unlike archival leaders have a responsibility not only to their
co-workers and potential archival visitors, but for all persons seeking answers
from their government. It is important that repositories for government
accountability continue to exist in order to ensure larger society’s access to
democracy.
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