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Re: [ARSCLIST] Certification
At 02:04 PM 7/21/2004 -0700, Eric Jacobs wrote:
These two loop-holes can easily be closed.
1. All those certified must take the exam. No
grandfathering can apply here. Grandfathering can allow
existing professionals to by-pass classes, training, and
internships, but it cannot be a substitute for the exam
itself.
A valid point, in my opinion. It will seem odd that those creating the
tests will not be certified themselves, but that is a problem of semantics,
not of process.
2. The certification body should require the strong
participation of the customers, those using the services of
archivists. If the certifying body is run exclusively by
archivists, it would be a case of the fox gaurding the hen
house. By engaging the customers in certification, they
will be better educated as well, and will be more inclined
to use certified services.
There are different levels of customer and certification may need to take
that into account. Preservation of the source material applies at all
levels, but just as the needs and interests of users vary, the criteria for
appropriate processing vary. That is why there were two versions of the
Callas master classes. The student (and teacher) using the recording to aid
in preparing material is unconcerned with the technology but vitally
dependent on easy audibility. In order to recover the dialogue, I allowed
artifacts in the discussion which would be unacceptable in the musical
elements - and which, to tell the truth, went against my own preferences.
But it was clear that they aided intelligibility, which was all important
for those customers.
It should be clear by now that I am not an archivist in the sense of most
members of this group. My concern is more with making the materials
accessible in usable form to people who could not afford the money to
acquire or the time to appreciate an idealized transfer for archiving. I
would seek certification for my own education and assurance as well as to
establish the need for certification in the minds of those who are turning
to others.
Finally, let me note that certification is no more sufficient than is
licensing of physicians. We know that there are good and bad doctors among
those with licenses to practice medicine. A wise patient selects a
physician based on education, licensing and recommendations from those who
have used the services before. The same should apply to audio recovery. I
will add only that audio procedures have their esthetic aspect just as
medical ones do; for many 'customers' of each, the esthetics of the result
may be even more important than the technical correctness.
Mike
--
mrichter@xxxxxxx
http://www.mrichter.com/