The Job Description
Archivists, curators, museum and archives technicians, and conservators search for, acquire, appraise, analyze, describe, arrange, catalogue, restore, preserve, exhibit, maintain, and store items of lasting value so that they can be used by researchers for exhibitions, publications, broadcasting and other educational programs. Depending on the occupation, these items may consist of historical documents, audio visual materials, institutional records, works of art, coins, stamps, minerals, clothing, maps, living and preserved plants and animals, buildings, computer records, or historic sites.
Archivists and curators plan and oversee the arrangement, cataloguing, and exhibition of collections and, along with technicians and conservators, maintain collections. Archivists and curators may coordinate educational and public outreach programs, such as tours, workshops, lectures, and classes, and may work with the boards of institutions to administer plans and policies.
They also may conduct research on topics or items relevant to their collections. Although some duties of archivists and curators are similar, the types of items they deal with differ. Curators usually handle objects found in cultural, biological, or historical collections, such as sculptures, textiles, and paintings, while archivists mainly handle valuable records, documents, or objects that are retained because they originally accompanied and relate specifically to the document.
Archivists determine what portion of the vast amount of records maintained by various organizations, such as government agencies, corporations, or educational institutions, or by families and individuals, should be made part of permanent historical holdings, and which of these records should be put on exhibit. They maintain records in their original arrangement according to the creator's organizational scheme, and describe records to facilitate retrieval.
Records may be saved on any medium, including paper, film, videotape, audiotape, electronic disk, or computer. They also may be copied onto some other format to protect the original from repeated handling, and to make them more accessible to researchers who use the records. As computers and various storage media evolve, archivists must keep abreast of technological advances in electronic information storage.
Archives may be part of a library, museum, or historical society, or may exist as a distinct archival unit within an organization. Archivists consider any medium containing recorded information as documents, including letters, books, and other paper documents, photographs, blueprints, audiovisual materials, and computer records, among others. Any document which reflects organizational transactions, hierarchy, or procedures can be considered a record. Archivists often specialize in an area of history or technology so they can better determine what records in that area qualify for retention and should become part of the archives. Archivists also may work with specialized forms of records—for example, manuscripts, electronic records, photographs, cartographic records, motion pictures, and sound recordings.
Curators oversee collections in museums, zoos, aquariums, botanic gardens, nature centers, and historic sites. They acquire items through purchases, gifts, field exploration, inter museum exchanges, or, in the case of some plants and animals, reproduction. Curators also plan and prepare exhibits. In natural history museums, curators collect and observe specimens in their natural habitat. Their work involves describing and classifying species, while specially trained collection managers and technicians provide hands-on care of natural history collections. Most curators use computers to catalogue and organize their collections, and to make information about the collection available to other curators and the public.
Most curators specialize in a specific field, such as botany, art, paleontology, or history. Those working in large institutions may be highly specialized. A large natural history museum, for example, would have specialists in birds, fishes, insects, and mollusks. Some curators maintain the collection while others perform administrative tasks. Registrars, for example, are responsible for keeping track of and moving objects in the collection. In small institutions, with only one or a few curators, one curator may be responsible for multiple tasks, from maintaining collections to directing the affairs of museums.
Conservators, also called preservation specialists, manage, care for, preserve, treat, and document works of art, artifacts, and specimens. This may require substantial historical, scientific, and archaeological research. They use x-rays, chemical testing, microscopes, special lights, and other laboratory equipment and techniques to examine objects and determine their condition, the need for treatment or restoration, and the appropriate method for preservation.
Conservators usually specialize in a particular material or group of objects, such as documents, paintings, decorative arts, textiles, metals, or architectural material. Emerging specialties in conservation include collections care, exhibit conservation, and environmental monitoring.
Museum directors formulate policies, plan budgets, and raise funds for their museums. They coordinate activities of their staff to establish and maintain collections. As their role has evolved, museum directors increasingly need business backgrounds in addition to an understanding and empathy for the subject matter of their collections.
Museum technicians assist curators and conservators by performing various preparatory and maintenance tasks on museum items. Some museum technicians may also assist curators with research. Archives technicians' help archivists organize, maintain, and provide access to historical documentary materials.
Working Conditions
The working conditions of archivists and curators vary. Some spend most of their time working with the public, providing reference assistance and educational services. Others perform research or process records, which often mean working alone in offices with only one or two other persons. Those who restore and install exhibits or work with bulky, heavy record containers may climb, stretch, or lift, and those in zoos, botanical gardens, and other outdoor museums or historic sites frequently walk great distances.
Curators may travel extensively to evaluate potential additions to the collection, to organize exhibitions, and to conduct research in their area of expertise.
Employment
Most Archivists and curators are employed in museums, botanical gardens, and zoos and some of them work in educational services, mainly in college and university libraries. Quite a few find jobs in federal, state, and local government departments. Most federal archivists work for the National Archives and Records Administration; others manage military archives in the Department of Defense. Most federal government curators work in the military museums of the Department of Defense, and in archaeological and other museums managed by the Department of Interior.
All state governments have archival or historical records sections employing archivists. State local governments have numerous historical museums, parks, libraries, and zoos employing curators.
Some large corporations have archives or records centers, employing archivists to manage the growing volume of records created or maintained as required by law or necessary to the firm’s operations. Religious and fraternal organizations, professional associations, conservation organizations, major private collectors and research firms also employ archivists and curators.
Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement
Employment as an archivist, conservator, or curator generally requires graduate education and substantial practical or work experience. Many archivists and curators work in archives or museums while completing their formal education, to gain hands-on experience that many employers seek when hiring.
Employers generally look for archivists with undergraduate and graduate degrees in history or library science, with courses in archival science. An increasing number of archivists have a double master's degree in history and library science.
Archivists need research and analytical ability to understand the content of documents and the context in which they were created, and to decipher deteriorated or poor quality printed matter, handwritten manuscripts, or photographs and films. A background in preservation management is often required of archivists since they are responsible for taking proper care of their records. Archivists also must be able to organize large amounts of information and write clear instructions for its retrieval and use. In addition, computer skills and the ability to work with electronic records and databases are increasingly important.
Many archives are very small, including one-person shops, with limited promotion opportunities. Archivists typically advance by transferring to a larger unit with supervisory positions. A doctorate in history, library science, or a related field may be needed by some advanced positions, such as director of a state archives.
In most museums, a master's degree in an appropriate discipline of the museum's specialty—for example, art, history, archaeology, or museum studies is required for employment as a curator. Many employers prefer a doctoral degree, particularly for curators in natural history or science museums. Earning two graduate degrees-in museum studies and a specialized subject, gives a candidate a distinct advantage in this competitive job market. In small museums, curatorial positions may be available to individuals with a bachelor's degree. For some positions, an internship of full-time museum work supplemented by courses in museum practices is needed.
Museum technicians generally need a bachelor's degree in an appropriate discipline of the museum's specialty, museum studies training, or previous museum work experience, particularly in exhibit design. Similarly, archives technicians generally need a bachelor's degree in library science or history, or relevant work experience. Technician positions often serve as a stepping stone for individuals interested in archival and curatorial work. With the exception of small museums, a master's degree is needed for advancement.
When hiring conservators, employers look for a master's degree in conservation, or in a closely related field, and substantial experience. There are only a few graduate programs in museum conservation techniques in the United States. Competition for entry to these programs is keen; to qualify, a student must have a background in chemistry, studio art, and art history, as well as work experience. For some programs, knowledge of a foreign language is also helpful. Conservation apprenticeships or internships as an undergraduate can also enhance one's admission prospects. Graduate programs last two to four years; the latter years include internship training. A few individuals enter conservation through apprenticeships with museums, nonprofit organizations, and conservators in private practice. Apprenticeships should be supplemented with courses in chemistry, studio art, and history. Apprenticeship training, although accepted, generally is a more difficult route into the conservation profession.
Students interested in museum work may take courses or obtain a bachelor's or master's degree in museum studies. Colleges and universities throughout the country offer bachelor's and master's degrees in museum studies. However, many employers feel that, while museum studies are helpful, a thorough knowledge of the museum's specialty and museum work experience are more important.
Curatorial positions often require knowledge in a number of fields. For historic and artistic conservation, courses in chemistry, physics, and art are desirable. Since curators—particularly those in small museums—may have administrative and managerial responsibilities, courses in business administration and public relations also are recommended. Similar to archivists, curators need computer skills and the ability to work with electronic databases.
Curators must be flexible because of their wide variety of duties. They need an aesthetic sense to design and present exhibits, and, in small museums, manual dexterity is needed to erect exhibits or restore objects. Leadership ability and business skills are important for museum directors, while public relations skills are valuable in increasing museum attendance and fundraising.
In large museums, curators may advance through several levels of responsibility, eventually to museum director. Curators in smaller museums often advance to larger ones. Individual research and publications are important for advancement.
Continuing education, which enables archivists, curators, conservators, and museum technicians to keep up with developments in the field, is available through meetings, conferences, and workshops sponsored by archival, historical, and curatorial associations.
Job Placement and Growth
Despite the anticipated increase—7 percent between 2014 and 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics—in the employment of archivists and curators, competition for jobs is expected to be keen. Graduates with highly specialized training, such as master's degrees in both library science and history, with a concentration in archives or records management, may have the best opportunities for jobs as archivists.
A job as a curator is attractive to many people, and many have the necessary subject knowledge; yet there are only a few openings. Consequently, candidates may have to work part-time, or as an intern, or even as a volunteer assistant curator or research associate after completing their formal education and substantial work experience in collection management, exhibit design, or restoration will be necessary for permanent status. Job opportunities for curators should be best in art and history museums, since these are the largest employers in the museum industry.
The job outlook for conservators may be more favorable, particularly for graduates of conservator programs. However, competition is stiff for the limited number of openings in these programs, and applicants need a technical background. Students who qualify and successfully complete the program, have knowledge of a foreign language, and are willing to relocate, will have an advantage over less qualified candidates in obtaining a position.
Employment of archivists and curators is expected to increase about as fast as the average for all occupations. Archival and curator jobs are expected to grow as public and private organizations put more emphasis on establishing archives and organizing records and information, and as public interest in science, art, history, and technology increases. Although the rate of turnover among archivists and curators is relatively low, the need to replace workers who leave the occupation or stop working will create some additional job openings.
Museums and other cultural institutions may be subject to cuts in funding during recessions, reducing demand for archivists and curators during these periods.
Income
Earnings of archivists and curators vary considerably by type and size of employer, and often by specialty. Average salaries in the federal government, for example, are generally higher than those in religious organizations. Salaries of curators in large, well-funded museums may be several times higher than those in small ones.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the median annual salary for archivists and curators was $46,710 in 2015.
Related Jobs
Archivists' and curators' interests in preservation and display are shared by anthropologists, arborists, archaeologists, artifacts conservators, botanists, ethnologists, folklorists genealogists, historians, horticulturists, information specialist: librarians, paintings restorers, records managers, and zoologists.
