Tillhandahålla tillgång eller tillgång för att tillhandahålla : en analys av tillgänglighetsdiskursen inom ramarna för ärendehandläggning på Landsarkivet i Lund

Sammanfattning: The aim of this Master’s thesis is to analyse the discourse of accessibility at the Regional Archives in Lund. The focal point of the study is the interaction between the archivist and the user of the archival records, which stems from questions regarding how archival records are mediated in the dialogue between the archivist and the user, and if the archive’s construct of access is perceived as accessible or not. Our intention is therefore to examine how accessibility – both as a concept and practice – is composed within the process of managing inquiries at the Regional Archives in Lund. The study is based on the premise that physical and/or digital access to archival records does not automatically mean that the information is accessible. Our theoretical framework consists of discourse theory, and is based on two of Michel Foucault’s metaphors: genealogy and archaeology. We combine Foucault’s theoretical perspective with new institutional theory, with emphasis on business logic and the production of cultural heritage. The method consists of qualitative interviews and is in line with discourse theory. We conducted six interviews with employees at the Regional Archives in Lund. The selection of participants was made according to their experience with managing incoming inquiries. We came to the conclusion that the predominate representation within the discourse of accessibility is to register and arrange records. This representation correlates with the meaning that the participants construct in relation to two other discourses, the discourse of the physical record and the discourse of economic-rational. The participants’ statements also indicated a displacement of discourses. We found that this displacement is caused by “new” values that produce representations in correlation with two other discourses: the discourse of post-modernism and the discourse of the digital information society. This displacement also shares values with the discourse of economic-rational. Furthermore, our results show that the archivists and the users have differing views on what information is, and what information is needed or necessary in order to locate primary sources. The archivists rely on the knowledge of archival theory and the structure of finding aids in order to find the source, while the user usually form their inquiry based on other factors such as meaning or content. The gap between the archive and the general public is thereby constructed between their differing informational structures, and indicate the need of archival mediation and/or outreach.