As information professionals, we're constantly asked to do more with less. More data to manage, more systems to navigate, more stakeholders to satisfy—all while working with limited resources. Sound familiar?
Here's what I've learned after 15 years blending web development, archival expertise, and information management: the real value isn't in being an expert in just one domain. It's in the multidisciplinary nature of bringing multiple skill sets to the table.
When you combine technical skills with archival knowledge, you gain something powerful: perspective. You understand not just how to store information, but how materials decay over time. You recognize technological obsolescence before it becomes a crisis. You think about digital preservation in practical, implementable terms rather than abstract concepts.
This isn't theoretical knowledge—it's the kind of insight that helps you make better decisions about software solutions, especially when it comes to privacy and security concerns.
One of the biggest challenges in our field? Getting everyone on the same page. IT speaks one language, business units speak another, and executives want everything translated into ROI.
Having a foot in multiple worlds means you can actually bridge that gap. You can explain to developers why archival context matters.You can help business users understand why that "simple" data request is actually incredibly complex. You can translate technical requirements into business outcomes.
It's about making connections and seeing ways to solve problems that others might miss.
At the end of the day, everything we do comes down to three things:
Processing more: Technology allows us to work at scale. What might take a single person weeks or months to evaluate, categorize, and add metadata to can now be accelerated with machine learning and automation tools. But—and this is crucial—a human will always need to be in the loop.
Discovering value: Once you can process more information efficiently, you can actually get to the good stuff. You can identify duplicates, eliminate what's redundant or trivial, and focus on the context and relationships that matter. You move from drowning in data to discovering insights.
Increasing access: This is where it all pays off. Better processing and value discovery mean people can actually find and use the information they need. And sometimes, with the right systems in place, you can deliver information to people even before they ask for it.
There's actually a new transdisciplinary field emerging called computational archival science. It's bringing together people who either had a background in programming and moved to archives, or media archivists who are now IT professionals and preservation professionals.
We haven't even fully explored what AI means for this blend of skills yet, but the potential is enormous. Imagine being able to address your archival backlog or dark data stores with intelligent automation while maintaining the archival context and access principles that matter.
If you're someone with diverse skills—maybe you've worked in IT and you're curious about records management, or you're an archivist who wants to understand systems better—don't underestimate what you bring to the table.
That unique perspective is exactly what organizations need right now. They need people who can optimize workflows, critically evaluate software solutions, and understand both the technical architecture and the information lifecycle.
Your multidisciplinary background isn't a liability or a sign of an unfocused career. It's your secret weapon.
This blog post is based on an original AIIM OnAir podcast. When recording podcasts, AIIM uses AI-enabled transcription in Zoom. We then use that transcription as part of a prompt with Claude Pro, Anthropic’s AI assistant. AIIM staff (aka humans) then edit the output from Claude for accuracy, completeness, and tone. In this way, we use AI to increase the accessibility of our podcast and extend the value of great content.