Language(s) of presentations:
Abstract:
Archival Education plays an increasingly important role in archival developments. The Information Resource Management School of Renmin University of China, the School of Information at the University of Michigan and the School of Library, Archival and Information Studies at the University of British Columbia are all famous for their excellent archival programs. The presentation compares the similarities and differences of the three schools' specialties, levels of teaching, curricula systems, and employment. It outlines the developing trends in archival education both in China and North America.
Target audience:
Archival educators, those interested in archival education, and archivists.
Overall purpose and significance of session:
The purpose of this session is to discuss the most important topics in archival education and to share common experience among archival educators and archivists.
Content description:
The presentation chooses four aspects: specialty areas, levels of teaching, curricula systems, and employment possibilities to make a systematic comparison between Chinese and North American archival education. The specialty areas in the three schools are not the same; however, all have been extending their programs into the information field. The outstanding characteristic of the Chinese teaching level is its completeness. North America has the advantage of a higher point of departure. There are many differences in curricula systems between China and North America. The possibilities for employment upon graduation are similar, but North American graduates have a wider choice of positions than in China. Through comparison, we find that, while keeping many of its own characteristics and a high level of quality, in the future archival education is bound to extend actively into the information field.
