Personarkiv på Kungliga biblioteket -ordningar, kopplingar och krockar på ett nationalbibliotek

Sammanfattning: The departure point of this thesis is the context of the institution and the processes surrounding the handling of personal archives at the National Library of Sweden. These processes are examined using Actor Network Theory. Around the personal archive a network is constructed and contained by actors – the archive itself, the librarian, the conservator, the researcher, organizational structures and others. Within this network choices are made of what is significant. There is a constant translation of ideas which are then materialized in the archive. The ideas of order, preservation, alteration and access are translated and defined in daily practices. The study analyses three aspects of the personal archive through concepts used in ANT. The first is the archive in the context of the National Library, a specific network. The second is the archive as part of a programme within the library, a programme which is active in creating and recreating connections. The translation of the concepts of access and preservation can be seen as actors in these programmes. Lastly, the personal archive itself, in its materiality, is in focus. The ideas of change, damage and alteration are discussed from the different perspectives of the librarian, conservator and researcher. The study suggests that the personal archive is constructed through its donation to the library and by the act of ordering it. The way of ordering – the choices and solutions decided at this point – will follow the archive, becoming part of it, into the future. The very process of ordering can be seen as a decisive moment in the history of that archive. During this process there is a possibility to connect different interests, in terms of both access and preservation. Yet as soon as the archive is stabilized it becomes much harder to make changes. If the choices made while creating the archive are inaccurate or incomplete they will remain a part of the archives history and future, connected to itself and the library as a whole. If conservation practises can be connected to the librarians practices already in the construction of the archive much can be achieved.