Hi
In reply to part of your question, in fact museum collections care and intellectual property documentation is fundamentally different than archival care and intellectual processing. The differences can bend your mind, which is why you generally see professionals do one or the other. I have included an excerpt from the NPS museum handbook vol 2 on the topic (I was a writer for Vol 2 and parts of Vol 1) of documentation. Volume 1 can tell you about the handling and storage differences.
As far as the turn over rate in entry level jobs being higher in museums verses archives, I can only guess this has to do with the number of archival institutions verses museums, but perhaps someone else may want to tackle that one.
---------Excepts from Musuem Handbook Vol 2 Appendix D
Cataloging by collection versus cataloging by object or lot
Archival cataloging is fundamentally different from object cataloging. Object cataloging involves creating individual catalog records for each object or for each comparatively small lot of objects. Archival cataloging, however, involves cataloging an entire collection under a single catalog record, no matter how many documents it contains. A single archival collection can contain an infinite number of documents, and the documents themselves can cover an infinite number of projects. Lot-cataloged objects, on the other hand, relate to a single project and have the same name and provenience.
Regardless of how many documents it contains, you should regard an archival collection as a single object. Assign a single catalog number to the collection as a whole.
Object cataloging usually is done on an object-by-object basis, but archival cataloging should never be done on a document-by-document basis—unless a document is not part of a larger archival collection.
Arrangement
• An archival collection needs to be arranged in its proper order before you attempt to catalog it. You must complete this essential preliminary work before you can create a catalog record for the collection. You can’t take a single document off the shelf and catalog it and move on to the next document. You must approach the collection as a whole and process and arrange the entire collection. Then you will understand what is in it and how the documents fit together. This is true whether the collection contains thousands of documents or only a handful of documents.
Multiple Accessions
• A single archival collection may be composed of multiple accessions, while a museum object is always associated with only one accession. For example, one archival collection may be composed of ten accessions from a single original source. Even though there are ten accessions, catalog the collection with one catalog record and one catalog number. The reverse is true in object collections, however, because an accession containing ten objects can result in ten catalog records and ten catalog numbers.
Classification versus Organization
• You don’t classify archival collections in the same way you classify museum objects. For example, you wouldn’t classify an archival collection by time period and material of manufacture or by genus and species. Instead, you analyze how each collection is organized and identify its component parts, such as series and subseries. You then base your cataloging and description on the unique internal organization of the collection.
Archives are managed on a collection-by-collection basis as opposed to a document-by-document basis for two reasons:
First, a document that is part of a collection has context and meaning in a way that an individual document cannot. A collection of documents can:
* reflect the development over time of historical themes and events
* suggest cause and effect
* show entire sequences of activities and thoughts
* help to authenticate individual documents
A single document is at best a snapshot, with little clear connection to what came before or after.
Second, as a practical matter, it’s often impossible and usually unnecessary to describe each individual document in a collection. Some collections include thousands of documents. Attempting to describe each in the same detail that you would describe a three-dimensional museum object would be time-consuming and largely unnecessary. You can find individual documents more expediently in a well-organized collection than you can find individually cataloged item.
https://www.nps.gov/museum/publications/MHII/mushbkII.html
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Jennifer A. Garey (Luksic-Kilman)
Arts & Anthiquitues Inc
Curator and Museum Consultant
Original Message:
Sent: 07-25-2016 01:09 PM
From: Jakob Etrheim
Subject: Archives vs Museums
Just wanted to have a discussion concerning employment in museum and archives. So I have worked/volunteered in the museum field for the past five years. Mostly as a part-time employee, but this past year got my first full-time gig. I also interned at a university archives one semester in college. Anyway, during that time I worked primary in museum collections. I have found archives and museums collections work very similar, obviously with archives bring more work in paper items. Yet, when I look at archival jobs openings, like on the SAA job site, the minimum qualifications almost always require graduate level MLS degree, even for like a temporary position. Whereas in museums, I have noticed a wide variety of college degrees like Museum Studies, History, Art History, etc., at varying degrees depending on the institution/position. I guess what I am saying is you rarely see entry level position at archives. Does anyone know why? Why couldn't someone be considered for archival employment if they museum collections experience? Just curious!
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Jakob Etrheim
Collections Assistant
Kandiyohi County Historical Society
Willmar MN
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