The conference began with Martin Levitt an adjunct professor, who has taught in Temple University’s History Department for 20 years. He recently retired after teaching archival education classes. His talk focused on trends he has observed and a few areas that signal future directions of our profession. My favorite comment that Levitt made was to say, “Teaching was as much of a learning experience for me as it was for my students.” It is so important that we, as practitioners, embrace our roles as teachers and perpetual learners, no matter where we are in our careers. Levitt emphasized the the value of discussion and sharing among his students to explore core issues of the archival profession. I found his characterization of being an archival educator in a History Department, similar to my characterization of what it means to be a practitioner among Historians. We are all facilitating research and an understanding of the past. Levitt reminded us of the continuing influence technology has on our practice, the impact of the History job market on our profession and the evolving place of Archival Science students and faculty within a History Department.
I wondered how we can continue to work closely with History PhD students and offer them non-academic opportunities in our organizations, while at the same time continuing to value more traditional paths to archival practice.