ACRL Rare Books and Manuscripts Section Task Force on Core Competencies for Special Collections Professionals. (2008). RBMS competencies for special collections professionals. College and Research Library News, 69(10), 622 – 629.

  Gabehart, A. D. (1992). Qualifications desired by employers for entry-level archivists in the United States. American Archivist, 55(2), 420 – 439.

  Miller, D. (2009). Professional Sustainability: The Elephant in the Archives – SAA Session #106. Annual Conference of the Society of American Archivists. www.archivists.org/conference/austin2009/docs/Session106_Miller.ppt

  Promís, P. (2008). Are employers asking for the right competencies? A case for emotional intelligence. Library Administration and Management, 22 (1), 24-30.

  Walch, V.I., Beaumont, N.P., Yakel, E., Bastian, J., Zimmelmn, N., Davis, S.E., & Diffendal, A. (2006). A*CENSUS (Archival Census and Education Needs Survey in the United States). American Archivist, 69(2), 291 – 419.

Job description analysis January 1, 2011 to May 1, 2011

  Defined nine categories of interpersonal / soft skills; examined postings for inclusion of these

  Online active job postings for full-time, professional, entry-level archivist positions   Temporary and permanent positions

  Must have “archivist” as part of job title

  SAA Career website, various email lists and listservs (A&A, EXLIBRIS, SHARP, DVAG, DUSAA), ALA JobList, Indeed, Drexel and UTexas iSchool websites, ArchivesGig

  Inherently “student”-related jobs = internships, practica, volunteer, unpaid, part-time (less than 37.5 hours per week), etc.

  Jobs situated outside the United States (Alaska/Hawaii were included, Canada was not)

  Paraprofessional positions

  Jobs requiring more than four years of experience

  Positions listed as “archivist” but did not require an advanced or related degree

  Positions that did not list the employer

  Work well with others (patrons, donors, and colleagues)

  Oral communication skills

  Self-management / Self-motivation

  Proactivity

  Creativity

  Enthusiasm

  Patience / Flexibility

  General (literally “interpersonal skills”)

  Other

  Soft skills listed that did not fit in any other category

 Academic: University

  For Profit: Corporate

 Government: State

 Historical Society

 Museum

 Non-profit: Other

46 total job postings found fitting the criteria so far.

27 permanent; 19 temporary

(10 additional jobs did not mention soft skills.)

New York: 7; Texas: 5; Illinois: 4; Maryland: 3;

Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Michigan, Montana, North Carolina: 2;

States in light yellow: 1; States in grey: 0

Illinois, New York: 3; Maryland, Michigan, Montana: 2;

States in light yellow: 1; States in grey: 0

New York, Texas: 4; Connecticut, Georgia: 2;

All others in light yellow: 1; Others in grey: 0

Category Instances

Work well with others 36

Oral communication skills

34

Self-management / self-motivation

23

Other 16

“Interpersonal skills” 12

Patience / flexibility 9

Proactivity 8

Creativity 3

Enthusiasm 1

Permanent Temporary

Final thoughts

  Continue job description capturing and analysis

  Refine and distribute survey

  Compare results of survey with job description trends

 …ways to develop the research further…