As a means of professional development and enjoyment I regularly read archival and public history publications. This often comes in the form of reading The American Archivist or The Public Historian but sometimes also includes other journals and the occasional book.
I like love reading and find that it often inspires me to consider by own work and evaluate new approaches to my public history and archival practice. I think it’s important to discuss what you read and one of the things I missed most after finishing my MA was the ease of access to people who wanted to talk critically about academic readings.
I felt like I needed a book club for archivists or public historians. With that in mind I was delighted to find the online reading group “Reading Archivists” which aims to bring archivists together to read and learn more about the archival profession in the United States. Readings for the group are introduced and analyzed on a group blog and then a discussion leader also organizes a twitter chat focused on the readings.
Virtual reading groups are a great idea and help great a sense of community for those working in smaller organizations or alone. Has anyone else had success with starting up a virtual or physical reading group?