What are...Archivists?
Archivists provide access to information held in archives. More specifically, an archivist is an information professional who manages, provides access to, and preserves records of enduring value. At City Archives & Special Collections, the vast majority of the information preserved and made available consists of the records of the city of New Orleans.
Archivists manage records by creating finding aids so that they can maintain physical and intellectual control over the records.
Finding aids help to make records discoverable to researchers so that they can determine what records they are interested in viewing.
Archivists must always balance the needs of the records with the needs of the public. Modern technology facilitates the creation of access copies of records that can be used without risk of damage to original records. This is why original materials are closed to researchers once they have been microfilmed or digitized.
Archivists also work with the community to provide outreach, often in the form of educational programs. Archivists seek to teach people about archives, the records that they hold, how to access them, and how to use them.
Learn More:
National Archives and Records Administration: What’s an Archivist?
Society of American Archivists: Dictionary of Archives Terminology