Feature -- by Mark Sproxton

Mummified seal ears, 15-year-old, iced styrofoam cakes and pretty much anything else you name, chances are an archivist has happened upon it. The score of brown boxes piled two-metres high in the storage area of the City of Calgary Archives announces many unusual revelations and much work lies ahead.

"Here we can get quite a few surprises when we open a box," explained Carol Stokes, one of four city archivists. "One of the benefits is as you go through the records, we often find interesting or unusual things. It's its own reward." Added colleague Sarah Bleach: "There are lots of bizarre things people think need to be kept."

Archivists work goes far beyond preserving and sorting through records be they photographs, maps, drawings, written records or videos. First, they must determine if a record is appropriate to keep, then will register the item, develop listings and inventories along with developing, maintaining and cataloguing reference library files. Working with original records created by the various municipal departments, or from the 1988 Olympics, the archivists must ensure their work allows easy retrieval of the information.

"You have to identify the records and describe things in a way that a researcher will have quick access," said Regina Landwehr. "High precision, low recall." In addition to being able to problem solve, archivists must be analytical and have a love for detail. "If you're an overly anal person, you would probably enjoy working in this field," laughed Stokes.

Not all their time is spent making records of records. On a rotating basis the archivists work in the reference area fielding questions from those who phone or show up in person, or send queries via e-mail, fax and snail mail. Those questions can range from people wanting to know the history of a certain piece of land, or if they can have their home declared a historic site.

Just as the public inquiries for information are varied, so too are the qualifications of the archivists and the many places they may work. Other archivists work in national and provincial archives, at institutions such as the Glenbow Museum, in private industry for bodies such as law societies, or in groups with religious affiliations. While there are three post-graduate degree programs in Canada for archivists, often those with a bachelor of arts degree and some experience and familiarity with archives will find work as archivists.

Stokes, who originally earned a physical education degree, went back and completed an art history degree and worked as librarian before switching to the archives. Landwehr completed an archaeology degree before pursuing a masters in archival science and working at an archives in Europe. Bleach also completed an archeology degree before moving into the municipal archives for full-time work. "I started by volunteering at the Glenbow before I applied here," she said. "I just fell into it and grew to love it." Depending on education, experience and place of employment -- private work tends to pay more -- archivists can earn $28,000 to over $100,000 a year.

Despite some occasional heavy lifting, and menial but important tasks such as monitoring the temperature and humidity in the secure storage area, none of the archivists have any complaints with their work. They all love the challenge of helping someone find information. "What somebody wants is very obscure," Landwehr said. "It's knowing where to go and how to find it." They also enjoy the opportunity of on going learning, either through reading the records, or dealing with experienced researchers.

While some job duties are similar to that of a librarian, the two jobs are decidedly different. For starters, public libraries are a source of secondary information, whereas archives hold primary resources, or those files that haven't been interpreted. "In the library, what you see on the shelf is a direct outcome of demand," Landwehr said. "What you see on the shelves here is a (record) of what best portrays the city's functions and operations... what gives the most complete, most accurate picture of how the city has functioned over time."

Partially due to Canada's youth as a country, employment opportunities for archivists are somewhat limited. That may change as the country and its population ages. "What we're seeing is the number of family history questions have really gone up," Landwehr said. "And people are more interested in the accountability of government."