The Development of Professional Education for Librarians and Archivists in the United States: A Comparative Essay

The author compares the historical development of professional education for librarians and for archivists in the United States. While librarians have developed a formal graduate education program for preparing practitioners for entry into the profession, archivists in the United States are only now beginning to develop such a program. The author identifies the funding provided by the Carnegie Corporation and the leadership provided by the American Library Association as the critical elements in the successful development of professional education programs for librarians, and he contrasts this situation with the lack of leadership provided by the Society of American Archivists in developing archival education. The article concludes with a discussion of some possible future directions for archival education.