Archival Reference Knowledge

Using Yakel and Torres's model of archival intelligence, this article raises questions about the knowledge needed to be a reference archivist. It draws on interviews with 28 users of academic archives (12 professors and 16 students) and 29 users of government archives (11 genealogists, 11 government employees, and 7 general researchers), which the authors conducted as part of the Archival Metrics Project, and an online survey of archivists conducted by the Society of American Archivists' Reference, Access and Outreach (RAO) Section. Based on the data from these studies, the authors developed the Archival Reference Knowledge (ARK) Model. The paper then compares and contrasts the model to five guidelines on archival education. It concludes by proposing ideas for future research.