With great interest I have followed the recent comments about degree programs for records management. The RIM profile has been low in the academic world. It is only during this final year of my graduate studies in library science that I became aware of records management as a career possibility, which I had never even heard mentioned during my sixteen years working as a systems analyst, project manager, and database administrator, or in my MBA program at Northwestern.

My course selections might have changed a bit if I had known of the option sooner, but I am very glad to have studied archival administration, indexing and abstracting, preservation and conservation, and government information sources. Core librarianship courses are also very relevant to records management. I have been trained how to classify and organize information,  to contract for vendor services, to research using a wide range of resources, and to work collaboratively. While I fully support the idea of a graduate degree in records management, I do encourage RIMs to look closely at library science students as potential colleagues.

Many ARMA chapters could raise the profile of their profession by speaking to student groups, by offering literature for distribution to students, and by setting up tables at college job fairs.

Another concrete way RIM professionals can increase awareness is by offering internships to students of library and computer science schools. Approach your local colleges and discuss how to frame an internship, paid or unpaid, that will provide work experience for a student to cite on a resume, and also help you accomplish a project on your to-do list.

I was fortunate enough to have an advisor and two archival administration professors at Dominican University who actually knew something about records management and encouraged me to pursue my interest. One of them, Douglas Bicknese, CA, CRM, is the University Archivist and records manager for the University of Illinois at Chicago. He offered me the opportunity of an internship at UIC in which I conducted a detailed assessment of the university records management program based on the ISO 15489 standard. After writing my report with proposed workflow and recommendations, I went on working with Doug to inventory all the paper records of the University Library, University Archives, and Special Collections, and then prepared records retention schedules. The creativity with which Doug designed my practicum has enabled me to gain experience that is equally valuable whether I seek employment in managing records, archives, or libraries.

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