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Question about terminology


Clay Rembert

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17 hours ago, ClayRembert said:

Just a general question; how often have you seen the term "Documentarian" being used by assemblies instead of "Secretary"?  Thanks!

I concur with my colleagues that I have never seen this term used in place of "Secretary." In addition, this term does not seem to be an accurate description of the position. The primary definition of this term appears to be a person who makes documentary films, which is not generally part of the job description of the Secretary. It appears that there is a less common definition of "an expert analyst of historical documents." While this is perhaps a bit closer, this is still not really what the Secretary does.

I generally do not see much variation in this title. Organizations do seem to come up with all kinds of creative terms for the President/Chairperson, but "Secretary" seems to be used fairly consistently for the officer charged with maintaining the records of the organization.

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7 hours ago, Josh Martin said:

I generally do not see much variation in this title. Organizations do seem to come up with all kinds of creative terms for the President/Chairperson, but "Secretary" seems to be used fairly consistently for the officer charged with maintaining the records of the organization.

I once belonged to a law fraternity that used the term "scribe." But I agree that most organizations, regardless of how creative they are with the titles for other positions, tend to stick with "secretary."

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As far as I can remember the only titles I've heard used for the recording officer are secretary, scribe, or clerk.  In courts, there is often a stenographer, but that's not a deliberative assembly, and the job is quite different.

Added:

When they make a mistake it's sometimes referred to as a "scrivener's error" but I have not heard one actually called a scrivener.

Edited by Gary Novosielski
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On 6/27/2020 at 6:11 PM, Weldon Merritt said:

I once belonged to a law fraternity that used the term "scribe." But I agree that most organizations, regardless of how creative they are with the titles for other positions, tend to stick with "secretary."

It is also common for high school latin clubs to have a scribe rather than a secretary.

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