Hållbarhet i evighet? : Ekologisk hållbarhet i svenska offentliga arkiv
(2024) ABMM34 20241Division of ALM and Digital Cultures
- Abstract
- This thesis investigates how public archives in Sweden engage with ecological sustainability, with the purpose to provide an opportunity for reflection and discussion on the topic. My point in question is the disambiguation of the Swedish word “hållbarhet”. This is used both in reference to sustainability, meaning actions for improving environmental conditions, and to durability, which in the archival sector refers to the maintenance of the records’ physical shape and enduring access to them. The different uses throw light on a potential conflict between the continuously increasing need for physical storage of archival records, and the urgency to decrease energy use and CO2 emissions in society at large. In order to get a grip on what this... (More)
- This thesis investigates how public archives in Sweden engage with ecological sustainability, with the purpose to provide an opportunity for reflection and discussion on the topic. My point in question is the disambiguation of the Swedish word “hållbarhet”. This is used both in reference to sustainability, meaning actions for improving environmental conditions, and to durability, which in the archival sector refers to the maintenance of the records’ physical shape and enduring access to them. The different uses throw light on a potential conflict between the continuously increasing need for physical storage of archival records, and the urgency to decrease energy use and CO2 emissions in society at large. In order to get a grip on what this means for the archival sector, I focus on cases where new repositories are under construction, and in what ways sustainability factors are taken into consideration. By conducting interviews with archivists from municipal, regional, and national public administration and comparing the results with the content of relevant governing documents, I gain insight into attitudes and understandings of the concept of “hållbarhet”. My findings are that attention to ecological sustainability within public archives varies hugely, depending on organizational level, resources, and individual attitudes. Although interviewees voice environmental concerns, archival durability in the end is prioritized before environmental sustainability. This, however, should be used to its advantage in order to broaden knowledge about how the two concepts can be combined. I argue that ensuring information retrieval in the future entails considering the carbon footprint of the records’ upkeep, not simply ensuring the durability of the records themselves. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9156687
- author
- Rhedin, Brita-Karin LU
- supervisor
- organization
- alternative title
- Sustainability for eternity? : Environmental sustainability in Swedish public sector archives
- course
- ABMM34 20241
- year
- 2024
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Archives, archival science, sustainability, environmental sustainability, green archives, records management, institutions, institutional theory, discourse analysis, sustainable development, appraisal
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 9156687
- date added to LUP
- 2024-06-19 09:54:23
- date last changed
- 2024-06-19 09:54:23
@misc{9156687,
abstract = {{This thesis investigates how public archives in Sweden engage with ecological sustainability, with the purpose to provide an opportunity for reflection and discussion on the topic. My point in question is the disambiguation of the Swedish word “hållbarhet”. This is used both in reference to sustainability, meaning actions for improving environmental conditions, and to durability, which in the archival sector refers to the maintenance of the records’ physical shape and enduring access to them. The different uses throw light on a potential conflict between the continuously increasing need for physical storage of archival records, and the urgency to decrease energy use and CO2 emissions in society at large. In order to get a grip on what this means for the archival sector, I focus on cases where new repositories are under construction, and in what ways sustainability factors are taken into consideration. By conducting interviews with archivists from municipal, regional, and national public administration and comparing the results with the content of relevant governing documents, I gain insight into attitudes and understandings of the concept of “hållbarhet”. My findings are that attention to ecological sustainability within public archives varies hugely, depending on organizational level, resources, and individual attitudes. Although interviewees voice environmental concerns, archival durability in the end is prioritized before environmental sustainability. This, however, should be used to its advantage in order to broaden knowledge about how the two concepts can be combined. I argue that ensuring information retrieval in the future entails considering the carbon footprint of the records’ upkeep, not simply ensuring the durability of the records themselves.}},
author = {{Rhedin, Brita-Karin}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Hållbarhet i evighet? : Ekologisk hållbarhet i svenska offentliga arkiv}},
year = {{2024}},
}