Rachel Bussert, Candidate for Nominating Committee
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
Local History Librarian Dayton Metro Library, 2021-present
Information Services Librarian (Archives Emphasis) Dayton Metro Library, 2018-2021
Congressional Papers Archivist University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-2018
Acting Head, University Archives and Manuscripts Department University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2015-2017
Senior Project Archivist Michigan Technological University, 2012-2014
Project Archivist Northern Michigan University, 2010-2012
EDUCATION:
- Master of Library and Information Science, Wayne State University, Detroit: 2014
- Master of Arts in History, Wright State University, Detroit: 2010
- Bachelor of Arts in History, The Ohio State University, Columbus: 2005
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES:
- Academy of Certified Archivists: Member, 2013-present; Exam Development Committee, 2015-2017
- Society of Ohio Archivists: Educational Programming Committee, October 2018-present, Educational Programming Committee co-chair, 2020-2022
- Association of Hawaii Archivists (AHA) Board of Directors, February 2018-October 2018; Education Committee, February 2018-October 2018; Website and Social Media Committee, February 2018-October 2018
- Association of Centers for the Study of Congress: Scholarships and Awards Committee, 2018
“What is the role of archival certification in the modern work environment?”
Certification compels archivists to engage in our profession and bring those learning opportunities back to the institutions where we work. It shows the breadth of education and professional experiences that can be acquired through our varied career paths. Certification demonstrates to our employers our value when the work that archivists do is not always tangible to them. As many workplaces move to virtual and hybrid environments it is more important than ever that we make the work that we do more visible. Mostly though, certification is a way to show our value as a whole person working in our profession, which we cannot rely on our places of work to do for us.