Dual Archivist/Librarians: Balancing the Benefits and Challenges of Diverse Responsibilities

Abstract

A survey of college and university archivists revealed that their roles and responsibilities are broad and diverse. Archival responsibilities have expanded across the board. For the purposes of this study, survey respondents were divided into two groups: archivists with and archivists without library responsibilities. Archivists with library responsibilities, or dual archivist/librarians, commented on a range of responsibilities that they find both beneficial and challenging. These dual archivist/librarians’ roles and responsibilities are the focus of this study.