Allmänhetens arkiv? : En studie av tre participatory archives

The aim of this study is to examine how and in what way users of the public participate and affect the archival information that is to be preserved for the future through the examination of three archival projects involving public participation. The study seeks to examine if participation of the public could lead to increased democracy and diversity of information in the archives. The study will be performed through the examination of three participatory archives all tied to traditional archival institutions. The study is based on the theoretical framework of Benn and Gaus and their notions of public and private which they discuss using the key words access, agency and interest. The study also takes into consideration Laura Millar’s theories of social memory as a means for the public good. Through a user perspective web resources tied to the projects are analyzed as well as defining documents of the archival institutions responsible of the projects. The findings are then discussed in a broader perspective using the three keywords access, agency and interest. The aim is to examine to what degree the projects allow participation through a comparative analysis of the chosen projects. The study suggests that whereas the projects aims to create access to all members of society, the chosen structures of the projects make up limitations for participation for some groups of society, affecting their opportunity to participate. Limitations of the projects, such as language, make up barriers for participation creating private spheres inside the public of the projects studied. The thesis stresses the need for the existence of a multitude of different participation projects with different forms of participation in order to properly fulfill the needs and interests of the public in the archives. This is a two years master’s thesis in archival science