International Congress on Archives 2004 pres 121 HOY SAE 04 Page 19
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Archival institutions also need some kind of statement about core archival principles to underpin the
reasons for engaging in professional development, and to provide a framework for designing programs
that challenge and renew theory and practice.
I believe Beghtol best answers why professional development must challenge theory and practice, be
innovative and take us out of our comfort zones. Beghtol reflects that information professionals (in
which she includes archivists) have the responsibility for 'guiding society and its institutions safely
through the shoals of the technology and information revolutions', and that the profession needs to
demonstrate its `intellectual, technical and ethical competencies to the rest of society'.
Beghtol's metaphor just a little further, professional development is like Doctor Stephen Maturin in the
motion picture Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. He cared for and nurtured young
Midshipman William Blakeney as a mentor, but he also challenged Captain Jack Aubrey, questioned
his motives and decisions, and forced him to rethink his goals and values. The relationship between the
Doctor and Captain was tested, but they continued debating and showed the courage to learn from each
other.
87
Eastwood, p. 465.
88
Beghtol, pp. 5556.
89
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, (motion picture), Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation,
distributed by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment South Pacific, Sydney, 2003, starring Russell Crowe
and Paul Bettany. This motion picture was based on a series of novels by Patrick O'Brian.
