In her Presidential address to the Society of American Archivists in August of 1999, Luciana Duranti chose to speak to the fundamental roles of the archival profession in the face of debate of the changes surrounding archival practice. Duranti compares a number of publications and opinions, alike and unalike, in order to frame the opinion that archives, no matter the change in methodology and technology, hold true to their mission as repositories of cultural heritage. Archivists take on as many roles as needed to fulfill their duties: as an administrator, employee, and public contact, to name a few. Duranti states to do so requires the archivist to hold true to the values archives have possessed since the French Revolution: to maintain for the public those records necessary to keep for the posterity of generations to come.
Archivists are expected to undertake a tremendous amount of personal stake in the repositories in which they work. The archive will achieve as the archivist achieves—an archive operated by a staff devoted to upholding the best practices and performing at the highest levels will grow to become an important institution. These are high-level thoughts and ideals, and in a perfect world even the best archivist cannot great the best archive. The work is hard and the expectations day-to-day are often difficult to overcome. Yet, one can attempt to do so. Duranti hopes that by reminding the profession of their long history of honored historical maintenance, conservation, and preservation, its professional membership will be reinvigorated and rise once again to the challenges at hand today.
Duranti, Luciana. “Meeting the Challenge of Contemporary Records: Does it Require a Role Change for the Archivist,” American Archivist, Vol. 63, No. 1 (Spring/Summer 2000), pp. 7-14.
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