“I Can’t Wait for You to Die”

Archivaria ◽  
2022 ◽  
pp. 110-137
Author(s):  
Harrison Apple
Keyword(s):  
Archival Science ◽  
Community Knowledge ◽  
Archival Practice ◽  
Community Archives ◽  
Queer History ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Complete History

Stemming from conflicts over the authority of professional archives to arrange and steward community knowledge, this article outlines the limitations of the archival apparatus to produce the conditions for social liberation through acquisition and offers suggestions for how to operate otherwise, as a collaborator in forgetting. It discusses the origins and revised mission of the Pittsburgh Queer History Project (PQHP) as a reflection of the precarious definition of community archives within the discipline and field of archival science. By retracing the steps in the PQHP’s mission, as it moved from being a custodial and exhibit-focused collecting project to acting as a decentralized mobile preservation service, I argue that community archival practice is an important standpoint from which to critically reassess the capacity of institutional archives to create a more conscious and complete history through broader collecting. Specifically, I demonstrate how contemporary attention to the value of community records and community archives is frequently accompanied by a demand for such archives, records, and communities to confess precarity and submit to institutional recordkeeping practices.

Defining the undefinable: an analysis of definitions of community archives

2019 ◽  
Vol 68 (8/9) ◽  
pp. 617-634
Author(s):  
Sarah Welland ◽  
Amanda Cossham
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Archival Theory ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Community Archives ◽  
Area Of Interest ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Community Archive ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to explore definitions and notions of what a community archive is, and the tensions between different understandings of community archives. Design/methodology/approach The paper is a critical analysis of community archives definitions and understanding from researchers and practitioners across the wider heritage information sector. Findings Community archives are a growing area of interest for researchers because of the archives’ intrinsic link to the community and their provision of the evidence of it. While discussion often focuses on a paradigm of transformative purpose, existing definitions around community archives continue to be tenuous, reflecting different real or perceived types and practices and the perspective of the author and the sector they work within. Variations in definition can also occur because of differences in perspective around theory and practice, with many practitioner-based definitions intrinsically bound with the community they represent. This can result in community archives being defined as “alternative” based on mainstream practice or “political” based on theoretical purview, or “meeting the needs of community” by the community archivists themselves. Research limitations/implications The paper is conceptual and does not attempt to provide one definition that covers the perceived extent of community archives. It is part of work in progress on the nature of community archives and the impact such discourse may have on archival theory and practice. Originality/value This paper provides an overview of some of the key issues and themes impacting a definition of community archives, and in doing so works towards a broader understanding the nature of community archives. In most cases, the concept of “community” seems to provide a common definitive element and practitioner definitions focus on addressing the needs of self-defined community to a greater or lesser extent.

Locating the Black archive

2020 ◽  
pp. 207-218
Author(s):  
Hannah Ishmael ◽  
Ego Ahaiwe Sowinski ◽  
Kelly Foster ◽  
Etienne Joseph ◽  
Nathan E. Richards
Keyword(s):  
Cultural History ◽  
Archival Science ◽  
Archival Practice ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Intellectual Traditions ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Archival Practices

This chapter takes the concept of ‘living heritage’ as a starting point to show the ways in which focusing on tangibility and intangibility, the formal and the informal, can be used to stretch the concepts of archival practice. It highlights the cultural and intellectual traditions, tangible and intangible, found within the Caribbean, Africa, and across the Diaspora. Accordingly, the institutions, organisations, concepts, and practices discussed here have a ‘pre-history’ both internationally and in the UK — a prehistory inseparable from the development of the intellectual and cultural history of African and Caribbean communities in the Diaspora. Despite this, an archival science capable of dealing with these complexities has yet to be developed. The chapter thus considers the ways in which Black-led archival practices in the UK have historically sought to both disrupt and define heritage practices. It makes a claim for the active, political and cultural incursions, disruptions, and interventions in the heritage sector by Black-led archives and heritage practitioners.

Archival studies in Greece and the emerging field of integrated information

2014 ◽  
Vol 63 (6/7) ◽  
pp. 422-435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgios A. Giannakopoulos ◽  
Ioannis Koumantakis
Keyword(s):  
Great Part ◽  
Library Science ◽  
Archival Science ◽  
Clear Understanding ◽  
Archival Studies ◽  
Multiple Choice Questions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technological Educational Institute ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Almost All

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a survey carried out on a sample of Greek university students (including students of library and archival science) that aimed to map and clarify perceptions of the archive among the students as well as their understanding of the nature of archival science. Moreover, it intends to investigate the information regarding student’s opinions and expectations about their archival studies. Design/methodology/approach – Two separate groups took part in this research and were asked to answer a questionnaire with 16 closed-type multiple-choice questions. The first group included 244 individuals, all of them Higher-Educational Institutions students from almost all academic fields. The second group contained 130 students from the three Information Departments of Greece. Findings – The conclusions verify Greek society’s view of archives. Even though no consistent definition of the archive seems to exist among the sample of students on which this survey drew, there is a clear understanding of the archive as a source of information emerging from the questionnaires as a shared undisputed fact. Practical implications – The research indicates that archival science is an important part of the information studies. The survey results were taken into account during the revamping of the curriculum of the Department of Library Science and Information Systems, Technological Educational Institute (TEI) of Athens. Originality/value – The study has advanced the understanding of archival science as an informational discipline which has to contribute a great part in the integrated field of information.

scholarly journals ‘A process where we’re all at the table’: community archives challenging dominant modes of archival practice

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 202-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jimmy Zavala ◽  
Alda Allina Migoni ◽  
Michelle Caswell ◽  
Noah Geraci ◽  
Marika Cifor
Keyword(s):  
Archival Practice ◽  
Community Archives

Provenienzprinzip und archivisches Denken

2021 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-156
Author(s):  
Philipp Messner
Keyword(s):  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Fundamental Concept ◽  
Archival Science ◽  
Archival Theory ◽  
Archival Practice ◽  
Complex Forms

Abstract The following paper discusses the ‘principle of provenance’ as a fundamental concept of archival theory and practice. Whereas traditional archival practice follows an understanding of provenance as singular in origin, current discussions in the field of archival science open up this specific notion of provenance towards more complex forms of contextuality.

scholarly journals Fleeting Film: Using Story to Seek Archival Permanence in the Transitory and Globalized Digital Visual Effects Industry

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-22
Author(s):  
Evanthia Samaras ◽  
Andrew Johnston
Keyword(s):  
Archival Science ◽  
Film Production ◽  
Historical Evidence ◽  
Visual Effects ◽  
Significant Aspect ◽  
Archival Practice ◽  
Original Order ◽  
The Future ◽  
Digital Film

AbstractArchiving is a long-standing vocation, founded on principles such as provenance, original order, truth, evidence, preservation and permanence. A far cry from the visual spectacle and movable feast of film visual effects (VFX)—a transitory and globalized industry of disposable firms, ever-advancing technologies and a roving workforce which craft digital animations and seamless effects for the big screen. In this paper we utilize the concept of “story” as a premise to bring together the seemingly different vocations of archival science and film VFX. Through an exploration of digital film production and archival practice under the context of storytelling, we aim to highlight the need for archivists to work with the VFX industry to ensure evidence of this culturally significant aspect of filmmaking and cinema discourse is preserved into the future. As well present the argument that archives are more than collections of historical evidence. Archives are story—and archivists are storytellers.

scholarly journals Management, Appraisal and Long Term Preservation of E-records: Role of Archivists and IT Professionals

Atlanti ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 217-224
Author(s):  
Aida Škoro Babić
Keyword(s):  
Record Management ◽  
Archival Science ◽  
It Professionals ◽  
Process Definition ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Role Of It ◽  
Long Term Preservation

In the process of creating records the role of IT professionals in present time increased, especially if we compare the role of IT professionals in record management and preservation of not born digital records. The author will try to define the role of archivists in the process of creating, managing, appraising and preserving e-records, as well as the role of IT professionals in the same process. Definition of both will be specified through analysing the processes in life of e-records and what professional and scientific approaches are necessary for long-term preservation of e-records. Through this analyse the author will try to specify what knowledge of both professions are actually necessary in the specific period in life of e-record and to emphasize the need of educating IT professionals in the field of basics of archival science to reach the goal of e-archives according to archival standards and principles.

Vagrant Facts: The Use of Archives as Cultural Heritage and Knowledge Production

Mousaion ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl-Magnus Johansson
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Participatory Design ◽  
User Study ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Late Nineteenth Century ◽  
Master's Students ◽  
Archival Practice ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Relationship

Traditionally, archives constitute the authority of facts. This view has been challenged by recognising archives, not as sites of knowledge retrieval but knowledge production, and by questioning archivists and archival practice as neutral, objective, and impartial. This contradiction also applies when considering the relationship between archives and cultural heritage. The traditional view that would regard public documents as cultural heritage contrasts the relationship that includes a more progressive definition of cultural heritage as traces and expressions from the past that are attributed value and are being used today, since nothing is cultural heritage in itself. Hence, it could be assumed that studying aspects that affect the use of archives could provide a wider understanding of the knowledge production that permeates the relationship between archives and cultural heritage. This paper reports a user study, with a participatory design, where 13 heritage master’s students performed a task that involved reflecting on their own research processes when using archives regarding vagrancy in late nineteenth-century Gothenburg. In the user study, aiming at gaining a wider understanding of the cognitive processes and epistemological aspects involved in using archives, the observations made by the students in their ethnographic and reflexive research process were analysed. From the analysis of the students’ reports, certain tendencies emerged that could be wider understood by their connections with previous research, for example within media theory.

scholarly journals Archivists as Peers in Digital Public History

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trevor Owens ◽  
Jesse A. Johnston
Keyword(s):  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Public History ◽  
Digital Archives ◽  
Archival Practice ◽  
Community Archives ◽  
Knowledge Infrastructure ◽  
Digital Scholarship ◽  
Digital Material ◽  
Archival Work ◽  
Significant Opportunity

In the last 25 years we have seen the web enable new digital means for historians to reach broader publics and audiences. Over that same period of time, archives and archivists have been exploring and engaging with related strands of digital transformation. In one strand, similar focus on community work through digital means has emerged in both areas. While historians have been developing a community of practice around public history, archivists and archives have similarly been reframing their work as more user-centered and more closely engaged with communities and their records. A body of archival work and scholarship has emerged around the function of community archives that presents significant possibilities for further connections with the practices of history and historians. In a second strand, strategies for understanding and preserving digital cultural heritage have also taken shape. While historians have begun exploring using tools to produce new forms of digital scholarship, archivists and archives have been working to both develop methods to care for and make available digital material. Archivists have established tools, workflows, vocabulary and infrastructure for digital archives, and they have also managed the digitization of collections to expand access. At the intersection of these two developments, we see a significant convergence between the needs and practices of public historians and archivists. Historians’ new forms of scholarship increasingly function as forms of knowledge infrastructure. Archivists work on systems for enabling access to collections are themselves anchored in longstanding commitments to infrastructure for enabling the use of records. At this convergence, there is a significant opportunity for historians to begin to connect more with archivists as peers, as experts in questions of the structure and order of sources and records. In this essay we explore the ways that archives, archivists, and archival practice are evolving around both analog and digital activities that are highly relevant for those interested in working in digital public history.

scholarly journals ARCHIVAL SCIENCE - TODAY

Atlanti + ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-18
Author(s):  
Peter Pavel Klasinc
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Bachelor's Degree ◽  
Archival Science ◽  
Records Management ◽  
Alma Mater ◽  
Basic Definition ◽  
Interdisciplinary Science ◽  
Study Programs ◽  
Definition Of

In this paper the author is convinced that today is the time when archival science can be defined in detail or even redefined. In professional archival literature we can find many definitions of archival science, which we can accept or take knowledge of without problems. If we analyze these definitions, we will, as a result, determine whether these definitions are still really appropriate for present time.The new definition of archival science was primarily referred to by the results of the preparation of materials for the accreditation of study programs in archival science (Ist degree - Bachelor's degree), archival science and records management (2nd degree - master of archival science and documentology) and archival science (3rd degree-doctor of archival science) at Alma Mater Europaea - European Center Maribor.The author in this paper is trying to redefine the basic definition of archival science. Therefore, the author makes the following statement: "Archival science is an independent, academic, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary science".Historical overview of definitions is interesting because of the prespectives it gives on archival science. Often, archival science relies on historical or social sciences, and recently to information science.

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