ARHIVSKI VJESNIK 40. (ZAGREB, 1997.)

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T. Huskamp Peterson, Lifelong Learning: the Archival Profession in 21

s Century, Arh. vjesn., god. 40(1997) str. 89-93 the research clientele and trying to make sure that clientele is served, no matter where the researcher is located and where the materials are housed. Despite all these change, the archival functions are constant: to select, preserve, and make available. But the means by which those functions are preformed is dramatically changed. What does this means for archival education ? Two things. First, initial education must focus on the process of analysis of archival issues. Second, after initial education, the archivist must have the opportunity to attend additional, short but intense courses that provide in-depth information on a particular problem, method, or technique. A focus on lifelong learning opportunities is overdue in the international community. There are many reasons why lifelong learning has been difficult to provide. Let us consider only two: choosing topics for continuing educational opportunities and finding appropriate delivery systems. The choice of topics is best left to the professionals themselves, acting in concert. One obvious method is for a professional archival association to decide on a theme and host an educational program on it. Another is to follow the lead of pan-European bodies, such as the "summit" of European archivists, held in Munich in the spring of 1996, that decided the priorities for Europe for the next two years were the management of electronic records, the training of archives personnel, and preservation of the European archival heritage. Within those guidelines, an archival institution, organization, or educational institution could shape an offering, secure in the knowledge that this is a pan-European need. Whatever the method used to select a topic, those developing the training opportunity must understand that short-term training competes in the marketplace of ideas for scarce time and money. If the training offered does not meet the needs of practitioners, no one will come. The best way to ensure that the training is relevant is to listen carefully to the demands of the professionals. Delivery systems for intensive short-term training are varied. Let us look at several: 1. Training in the context of an international or regional archival meeting. The Society of American Archivists always has training opportunities with its annual convention: CITRA, the International Conference of the Round Table on Archives, often has a pre- or post-conference seminar. These programs have the virtues of bringing international experts in to lecture; the disadvantage is that they are often only two days in lenght, reflect the priorities of the program commitee or the host institution (which may or may not be the priorities of the larger profession) and often do not have sufficient coordination to make a coherent training experience. Because 91