Are you diggin' it? Digitalt kulturarvsskapande hos kommunarkiv
(2012) ABMM23 20121Division of ALM and Digital Cultures
- Abstract
- The aim of this master’s thesis is to investigate digitization initiatives in Swedish municipal archives and problematize their reasons for digitizing and their appraisal practices. We argue that the archive is socially constructed and that appraisal decisions are part of shaping our cultural heritage – by examining digitization we will focus specifically on the construction of the digital cultural heritage. Furthermore, we mean that through the appraisal process value is ascribed to archival records; appraisal is therefore to be seen as an act of power. By shedding light on the fact that appraisal decisions cannot be neutral to current social values, we mean to emphasize the archive’s role as an institution of power.
To develop an... (More) - The aim of this master’s thesis is to investigate digitization initiatives in Swedish municipal archives and problematize their reasons for digitizing and their appraisal practices. We argue that the archive is socially constructed and that appraisal decisions are part of shaping our cultural heritage – by examining digitization we will focus specifically on the construction of the digital cultural heritage. Furthermore, we mean that through the appraisal process value is ascribed to archival records; appraisal is therefore to be seen as an act of power. By shedding light on the fact that appraisal decisions cannot be neutral to current social values, we mean to emphasize the archive’s role as an institution of power.
To develop an empirical foundation on which to base our analysis, a survey has been conducted among all 290 municipal archives in Sweden. The results show that reasons behind digitization often are due to the needs of the municipal administration, the archivists own initiatives or on account of public interest. Documents selected for digitization most frequently concern administration, building and city planning. Appraisal principles are most commonly based on the wish to facilitate access to records, to meet the interest of the public, but also to make the work in the archive more efficient. Even though increased access to the records is a main reason for digitizing, only a small part of the digitized records have been made accessible. We conclude that appraisal is often made on functional grounds, and while that is not necessarily a bad thing, we argue that a critical approach to the appraisal process is crucial. It is important that archivists realize their part in the construction of the digital cultural heritage. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/2608169
- author
- Åstrand, Marie LU and Ferm, Helena LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- ABMM23 20121
- year
- 2012
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Archival studies, Appraisal, Digital cultural heritage, Digitization, Municipal archives, Arkivvetenskap, Digitalisering, Digitalt kulturarv, Urval, Kommunarkiv
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 2608169
- date added to LUP
- 2012-07-30 08:17:45
- date last changed
- 2014-04-11 14:16:22
@misc{2608169,
abstract = {{The aim of this master’s thesis is to investigate digitization initiatives in Swedish municipal archives and problematize their reasons for digitizing and their appraisal practices. We argue that the archive is socially constructed and that appraisal decisions are part of shaping our cultural heritage – by examining digitization we will focus specifically on the construction of the digital cultural heritage. Furthermore, we mean that through the appraisal process value is ascribed to archival records; appraisal is therefore to be seen as an act of power. By shedding light on the fact that appraisal decisions cannot be neutral to current social values, we mean to emphasize the archive’s role as an institution of power.
To develop an empirical foundation on which to base our analysis, a survey has been conducted among all 290 municipal archives in Sweden. The results show that reasons behind digitization often are due to the needs of the municipal administration, the archivists own initiatives or on account of public interest. Documents selected for digitization most frequently concern administration, building and city planning. Appraisal principles are most commonly based on the wish to facilitate access to records, to meet the interest of the public, but also to make the work in the archive more efficient. Even though increased access to the records is a main reason for digitizing, only a small part of the digitized records have been made accessible. We conclude that appraisal is often made on functional grounds, and while that is not necessarily a bad thing, we argue that a critical approach to the appraisal process is crucial. It is important that archivists realize their part in the construction of the digital cultural heritage.}},
author = {{Åstrand, Marie and Ferm, Helena}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Are you diggin' it? Digitalt kulturarvsskapande hos kommunarkiv}},
year = {{2012}},
}