In this article the author contends that as professional associations plan archival education programs they often do so from too narrow a perspective and without sufficient thought as to how their efforts mesh with those of other associations or with graduate archival education programs. He also argues that, because of the murky distinction between preappointment and postappointment education, both SAA and the regional archival associations share a common primary mission: to fill the gaps that exist in the present network of graduate archival education opportunities. To do so, archival associations need to (1) pay closer attention to the graduate programs and learn where gaps exist, (2) examine more closely some of their past assumptions concerning archival education in light of recent information, and (3) take a broader view of how their efforts may contribute to the development of the archival profession generally in addition to serving the needs of their primary constituency.

Cooperating institutions in nine states founded archival networks in the 1960s and 1970s to administer more effectively their archival and manuscript collections. In July 1981, a National Conference on Regional Archival Networks was held to evaluate the achievements of these networks. The authors of this article extend the work of that conference by offering a critical look at mature networks. The first author reviews the development of archival networks and compares the reasons behind their establishment to the realities of daily operation. The second author analyzes the extent to which archival cooperation exists in five areas: local government records, acquisitions, collection use, resource sharing, and conflict resolution. The third author examines the effectiveness of archival networks in terms of funding and structure.