During the 1980s, the Society of American Archivists (SAA) task force and then committee concerned with automation organized a series of seminars and workshops. In doing so, the members evolved a series of curricula based on explicit learning objectives. When they tried to use these curricula to structure the course contents, the idealism of the curricula gave way to reality. This article reviews the development of the curricula and their implementation. It examines the successes and failures of earlier efforts and concludes with lessons to be drawn from these early attempts to train archivists to deal with automation.

This article assesses the knowledge and skills that archivists need to administer electronic records and apply automated techniques in archives. The author discusses how rapidly changing technology, ongoing debates about the relevance of archival theory, and evolving practices and methods present particular challenges for the development of a curriculum on automation. She outlines a curriculum organized into four broad areas: (1) archives and information technology, (2) basic concepts and terminology, (3) electronic records, and (4) automated techniques, ending with a discussion of the overall learning objectives for such a curriculum.

With the growing use of information technologies in all aspects of work and leisure, automation and electronic records have become commonplace within most modern organizations. To address the varied and often complex user-support requirements associated with these developments, we must educate a new breed of information services professional. The traditional role models of archivist, records manager, librarian, museum curator, and the like will not suffice. The accompanying essay briefly describes the emerging information services environment, the special demands it places on archivists, the types of skills required in response to these articulated needs, and a strategy and criteria for a programmatic response. This paper was originally prepared for the Society of American Archivists' Committee on Automated Records and Techniques as part of a NHPRC-funded grant to develop an automation curriculum for the archival profession.

This essay argues that the North American archival profession has not adequately dealt with educating archivists to manage automated techniques and, especially, electronic records because of a variety of structural problems in this field: There are few archival educators qualified to teach such topics, few satisfactory archival programs for handling such functions, and little research being done on these concerns. The essay presents five actions the archival community could take to rectify the dilemma: (1) expand the concept of graduate archival education, (2) make such education interdisciplinary, (3) emphasize research, (4) develop higher visibility with archival empoloyers and prospective student recruits, and (5) build a foundation for effective continuing education programs. This essay was prepared prior to Cox's assuming the editorship of the American Archivist. The essay is published as part of the CART Curriculum Conference Proceedings.

Archivists need to know how information technology is applied to recordkeeping and to the management of records. The needs in the two areas complement each other. Learning in both areas should proceed from a solid understanding of archival theory and method in order to ensure the protection of the integrity of archives as evidence of decision and action. With this goal in mind, strategies and tactics to bring about greater understanding of information technology in archival science can be devised to meet needs in both preappointment and postappointment education.

To determine how best to deliver the necessary education and information resources concerning automation, the author examines the limited demographic information about the archival profession as well as theories about the nature of professions generally and how they adapt to change. In particular, the author draws on Everett Rogers's theories about innovation diffusion and Cyril Houle's analysis of professional work settings to reach conclusions about archivists as learners. The archival profession appears to have reached Rogers's early majority stage, during which one can expect rapid acceptance of new technologies and greatly increased demand for assistance in applying them.

Archivists may find acquiring computer literacy the most difficult aspect of becoming an electronic records archivist. To reassure archivists and urge them to become involved with the new media, the author explores five aspects related to learning about computers—gender, age, computer anxiety, ways of thinking, and extrinsic knowledge.

The purpose of this article is threefold. First, the author briefly introduces the concept of case study methods in teaching and the ways these methods might be applied in the professional development of archivists. Second, this article explores case study writing and reports on what the Society of American Archivists (SAA) in particular is doing to promote the creation of case study materials. Third, this essay identifies areas in which archival educators and practitioners might team up to produce case studies concerning the archival administration of electronic records and the use of information technologies in archives. Since the author has no intention of restating in the confines of this short paper the vast body of literature pertaining to case writing and teaching, he has also provided a selected bibliography of useful texts and articles.

Literature relating to the archival administration of electronic records is growing rapidly and becoming increasingly rich and diverse. With reference to key texts, the author examines some of the functions this literature needs to play in electronic records instruction, particularly at the graduate level. She then discusses some of the current limitations of the literature and offers suggestions on how these might be overcome, particulary through the use of electronic information systems technology.

Archivists share with information and computer scientists many concerns relating to the long-term accessibility of information created and maintained with modern technology. However, the literature of information and computer scientists is largely unused by archivists working with electronic records. This literature can be used effectively if electronic records archivists approach it with a clear understanding of their own needs and a sense of the purpose of the materials being used. This essay reviews a selection of the vast literature of information and computer science. The essay makes recommendations for how these materials may support archival work in managing and preserving electronic records and also describes some of the bibliographic tools needed to access these useful resources.