Our Comeback Story: Impostor Syndrome in the Archival Profession
In 2019, a group of archivists participated in two conference sessions focused on impostor syndrome in the archives field. Though no comprehensive study on impostor syndrome has been undertaken in the archives profession, the authors listened to numerous stories of the phenomenon among audience members. This perspectives article considers the presence and impact of impostor syndrome in the archives field. The authors define the phenomenon, review literature on its influences in the information science profession, include stories of archives professionals working with impostor syndrome, and offer suggestions for working through impostor syndrome.ABSTRACT
Contributor Notes
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
April Karlene Anderson-Zorn is the university archivist for Illinois State University. Anderson-Zorn earned master's degrees in library and information science from Florida State University and in history from the University of Central Florida. She is a certified archivist through the Academy of Certified Archivists and holds a Digital Archives Specialist Certificate through the Society of American Archivists. Anderson-Zorn is active in SAA and the Midwest Archives Conference, presenting topics and authoring articles related to university archives outreach projects and tools.
Michael A. (Drew) Davis is the archivist and records manager at the College of American Pathologists in Northfield, Illinois, where he oversees the CAP's archival and records management programs. He previously worked at the Alabama Department of Archives and History, where he processed the George C. and Lurleen B. Wallace Collection and was the assistant archivist at Motorola Solutions, Inc., in Schaumburg, Illinois. He possesses a bachelor's degree in history from Auburn University and a master's degree in history with a concentration in archival studies from Auburn University. He is certified by the Academy of Certified Archivists.
Danielle Nowak is the digital assets librarian at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois, where she maintains and contributes to the arboretum's collections management system, ACORN. Nowak earned her bachelor's degree in history from Purdue University and her master's in library science from Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). She is a certified archivist through the Academy of Certified Archivists.
Alison Stankrauff is a city carrier for the United States Postal Service in Detroit, Michigan. She has a master's degree in library and information science with a concentration on archival administration from Wayne State University (2002). She has a bachelor's degree in history from Antioch College (1996). She served as the university archivist at Wayne State University from 2017 to 2020. Prior to that, she served as the university archivist and an associate librarian at Indiana University South Bend from 2004 to 2017. She served as reference archivist at the American Jewish Archives from 2002 to 2004.