There was lengthy and extensive discussion of what should be included in the
job description of an archivist in Germany in the mid 1990s.15 As a result of this
discussion many new subjects were added, some were taken out and the whole
curriculum was newly structured. In particular, Aspects of records management,
administrative science and digital records were integrated into the curriculum. In
contrast to the archival education in Potsdam16, a stronger orientation to library,
documentation or information science was deliberately declined.
Four special areas were established within the curriculum: Archival science,
administrative sciences, history and auxiliary sciences. Some of the old subjects
have been cancelled or reduced in their length. The rest were divided into smaller
modules of 15 or 30 hours and every subject was allocated to one of the new
areas. All in all, a clear shift benefitting archival and administrative sciences
has taken place, while the historical subjects in particular were reduced to a
minimum. The amount of lessons increased from 972 up to about 1300 hours,
which means about 28 classes each week for 46 weeks a year.17
The regulation of 1997 also specified the content of the practical education more
than it had done previously. Since that time there has been a particular focus
on contact with different kinds of administrations and advising them regarding
records management.
Reforms of the Archiefschool 1995-2001
In 1995, the Dutch Archives Act [Archiefwet]18 and the archives decree
[Archiefbeslu.it]19 were published in the Netherlands. As a result, the training
was transferred to the Universiteit van Amsterdam [University of Amsterdam]
and the Hogeschool van Amsterdam [Amsterdam Polytechnics] as normal courses
of study. Additionally, the Archiefschool was converted into a foundation and
PROFESSIONALITEIT
Area
Hours
Archival science
429
32%
Administrative science
343
26%
History
154
12%
Auxiliary sciences
402
30%
Total
1,328
100%
Table 3: Hours of lessons within the education in Marburg (as at 15.12.2008
15 A summary is given in: Robert Kretzschmar: 'Archive und Archivare - wohin? Meilensteine auf dem Weg
der Entwicklung eines professionellen Archivwesens in Deutschland' in: Archivpflege in Westfalen und Lippe,
70, 2009, S. 8-14, see especially note 19.
16 The University of Applied Studies in Potsdam, Department of ABD (Archives, Libraries and
Documentation) established in 1992 as successor of the former education in the DDR and also esta
blished as an alternative to the education on the bachelor level in Marburg. See: Archivische berufsbil-
der und Ausbildungsanforderungen (Potsdamer Studiën, Vol. 3), Potsdam 1996; Hartwig Walberg: Das
Ausbildungskonzept der Fachhochschule Potsdam. In: Karsten Uhde (Ed.): Berufsbild im Wandel - Aktuelle
Herausforderungen für die archivarische Ausbildung und Fortbildung. (Veröffentlichungen der Archivschule
Marburg, vol. 43), Marburg 2005, p. 205-226.
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