Archivists 2.0: redefining the archivist's profession in the digital age
| Published date | 06 July 2012 |
| Pages | 98-115 |
| Date | 06 July 2012 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/09565691211268162 |
| Author | Maria Kallberg |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
ARTICLES
Archivists 2.0: redefining the
archivist’s profession in the
digital age
Maria Kallberg
Department of Information Technology and Media, Mid Sweden University,
Ha
¨rno
¨sand, Sweden
Abstract
Purpose – Public organizations are investing in e-government development and e-services to
improve the interaction and services to the citizens. Archivists need to act more pro-active to capture
and manage records in order to be accessible both in the present and in the long-term. Archivists need
to understand the conceptual context and business processes in which the records are created. This
study aims to focus on an ongoing process within a specific context, which may have direct, but also
future implications for archivists’ professional identity. Professional identity is understood as a sense
of shared understandings and skills, experiences, common way of perceiving problems and their
possible solutions. The study is meant to answer the overall research question and sub-questions:
What is the status of archivist professionals’ positions and practice within public organizations? What
organizational effect has the change from paper-based to electronic record keeping had on archivists’
professional positions and practice within organizations? How do archivists perceive themselves in
their professional roles, i.e. identity? Are there any critical competence issues that need to be solved
that are connected to new requirements in working methods related to electronic record keeping? and
How do archivists define their skills and working performance?
Design/methodology/approach – The data presented and analyzed in this article are based on a
literature review and an empirical study. The literature covers areas related to archivists’ professional
practice and future role. The empirical study is based on interviews with nine municipality archivists
at nine different Swedish municipalities identified by the Swedish Association of Local Government
and Regions as “good example” e-government municipalities. All interviews were undertaken during
January and March 2011.
Findings – The findings provide information on how archivists define their current and future
professional role in relation to the organization and the development of information technology: the
status of archivist professionals’ positions and practice, for example, within public organizations. It
explores the importance of strategic approaches to managing electronic records – from their creation
throughout their whole existence, including long-term preservation – and considers necessary
changes to the professional image of archivists and the skills they need.
Originality/value – This article will be of interest to record keeping practitioners working in the
shift to e-government in local contexts and also to educators, as there appears to be a shift in the skills
and knowledge required by those working in local government.
Keywords Electronic recordsmanagement, Record keeping,Public sector organizations, Skills,
Strategic management, Information management, Records management, Archives, Sweden
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Electronic information makes it possible to use information for many different
purposes, more than has ever been possible before. This has affected the interaction s
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0956-5698.htm
RMJ
22,2
98
Received 3 October 2011
Revised 5 March 2012
3 May 2012
Accepted 8 May 2012
Records Management Journal
Vol. 22 No. 2, 2012
pp. 98-115
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0956-5698
DOI 10.1108/09565691211268162
between citizens and government, and has had an impacted on public administration
(Chun et al., 2010; Dollar, 1992; Fang, 2002; Fountain, 2001). For example in e-services,
born-digital records are used to improve services to citizens and also to streamline
internal governmental processes. This raises challenges when integrating data from
different sources to ensure privacy of information. Records referring to or about
individuals cannot be shared without considering privacy-related regulations (Chun
et al., 2010; Warner and Chun, 2009) and citizens need to be confident that the
information will be kept and used in a protected environment (Chun et al., 2010; Evans
and Yen, 2005; Fang, 2002). Records from complex e-government services have to be
captured and managed in order to be accessible both in the present and in the
long-term. Otherwise it is not possible to manage, maintain and preserve the records to
fulfill their purpose as evidence. It is important to connect the information to the
process and the context in which it belongs in order to understand the value of the
information. Issues of responsibility have to be taken into consideration – that is; who
owns and is responsible for the records, their appraisal and how to solve long-term
preservation issues. The challenges described must be solved and therefore public
organizations are in need of and dependent on specialized knowledge in order to be
successful.
This research is about whether and how electronic recordkeeping as part of
e-government development has affected archivists as professionals, using nine
Swedish local governments (municipalities) as an arena for the study. Archivists in
Sweden claim to cover records management as well as archives management according
to McKemmish’s definition as:
The managing of records from their creation during their whole existence, in order to render
accessibility of meaningful records for as long as they are of value to people, organizations
and societies (McKemmish, 2001).
This research is part of a larger comparative study of e-government best practice in the
nine municipalities. These municipalities were chosen because the Swedish
Association of Local Authorities and Regions (2010, 2011) had identified them as
good examples of e-government development (www.skl.se/web/e-forvaltning.aspx).
The overall research aim is to establish the awareness of recordkeeping legislative
demands as part of e-government development and its effect on archivists’ professional
status, e.g. positions and practice. E-government development is a prioritized political
issue in Sweden, therefore it affects archivists, both as a collective professional group
and as individual practitioners. E-government development is an on-going process
within a specific context, which may have direct, but also future implications for
archivists’ professional identity. Professional identity is understood as a sense of
shared understandings and skills, experiences, and a common way of perceiving
problems and their possible solutions (Evetts, 1999). This identity is formed and
reproduced through a shared and common educational background and professional
training, work practice and memberships in professional associations (Evetts, 1999).
As a first step, during September and October 2010 a content analysis was
conducted of the municipalities’ e-strategies considering the motives or the “why” of
the strategies, the goals or the “what” of the strategies and the methods to achieve the
goals or the “how” of the strategies. The findings revealed issues and situations of
relevance to the advancement of recordkeeping. For example, only five of the nine
Archivists
profession in the
digital age
99
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