College and University Archivists: Doing It All for Less

Abstract

The Society of American Archivists (SAA) and its members have conducted numerous surveys of the archival profession—both of archivists as individuals and of archival institutions—through the years. In 1949, the College and University Archives Committee of SAA conducted the first survey specifically of college and university archives. Building off previous surveys, in 2021 the College and University Archives Landscape Survey was undertaken by the College and University Archives Section to gather data about the management and organization of college and university archives within the United States, as well as about the backgrounds, skills, responsibilities, and tasks in which college and university archivists are engaged. While the initial results were released to the membership, this article represents further analysis and contextualization with other professional literature. It identifies trends, similarities, and differences between surveys and eras, and it provides suggestions for future surveys and research.