Certifiable.
Well, my wife always knew that I was certifiable, but now everyone else does as well. I am now a certified archivist. The envelope came from the ACA this past weekend, and I opened it with much trepidation. I cannot tell you how elated I was to complete this goal in my life. I studied for this exam for seven months. I am so thankful that the Lord gave me the perseverance to finish studying and the recall to pass the exam.
I intend to post later on how I would recommend studying for the exam. I will try to add links to several electronic sources that I found helpful.
Now that I am a C. A. (that’s the first time I have typed those letters! Boy, that felt good!) I would be glad to help any future candidates study for the exam. I did not realize until late in the study process that the ACA offers to pair certified archivists with candidates to help them prepare for the exam. If I had realized that sooner, I would have availed myself of the opportunity.
I am also willing to proctor the exam, if there is ever a group in Louisville, KY, that wants to take the exam. I am thankful to Mark Meade, archivist at Bellarmine University, for proctoring my exam, and if I can ever do the same for anyone else, I would like to.
Once again, thanks to Michele, Paul, Mr. Keisling, Taffey, Laura, and all my archives workers for encouraging me as I prepared for the exam.
Congratulations! It is a difficult test, as it should be, and I find it most useful in pointing out my weaknesses and strengths.
Remember to build on your strengths. Too often we try to improve our weakness, but strengths are what they are - and we should use them as often as we can!
Again, congratulations! Welcome to the wonderful world of certifiable, oh, I mean certified archivy. LOL
Comment by Shelly — August 29, 2006 @ 3:51 pm
Congratulations from a lurker! I discovered your weblog in early August after I decided that I, too, should attempt to become a Certified Archivist. I am a librarian with archival responsibilities in a small state college. It has been truly inspiring to discover someone who succeeded primarily by self-study. You are my first role model. Thanks for the information on the ACA mentorship opportunity, which I will definitely check out. Bravo for a job well done and for showing us your kind and generous spirit through your writing.
Comment by Peggy — September 20, 2006 @ 2:56 pm
Peggy,
Thank you so much for your kind words. I hope the process goes really well for you and that you have much success. Because you work in the field, there are probably many areas of the knowledge domains with which you are already familiar. That should make your work go a little more smoothly. I benefited from the test primarily because it pointed out areas in which I lacked knowledge. Surprisingly, I scored lower in one of the areas that I considered a strength. I think that’s because I read more in areas with which I was less familiar.
If you have any questions, or if I can help in any way, let me know.
Blessings,
Jason
Comment by NeoArch — September 21, 2006 @ 7:50 am
Jason,
Whenever you get around to it, I will be very interested in the post you mention above in which you give your recommendations for how to study for the exam. Right now I’m simply reading the basic SAA texts and trying to make sure that my practice is in line with the theory and guidelines expressed within them. Believe me, I have made lots of well-intentioned mistakes over the years. Simply starting to study has helped in ways I never expected. That alone makes certification a goal that has no apparent negatives (at this point, anyway). Thanks for answering my comment.
Comment by Peggy — September 30, 2006 @ 9:01 am
Peggy,
I will try to start posting on it this week. Sadly, since I passed, I have been pretty lax on the blog, but I plan on trying to write again this week.
–Jason
Comment by NeoArch — September 30, 2006 @ 5:32 pm
I look forward to this and completely understand that after such an effort you may wish to relax and recreate away from the subject of archives :-).
Comment by Peggy — September 30, 2006 @ 6:09 pm