Ann-Sofie Klareld

The “middle archive” exploring the practical and theoretical implications of a new concept in Sweden

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study how the concept “middle archive” is related to the Swedish archival theory and practice, by exploring its background and its practical and theoretical implications. The overarching aim is to increase the understanding of the interrelations between the archival theory and practice, with a special focus on changes occurring in the digital environment in Sweden. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a qualitative study of texts produced between 2010 and 2013, which were read and analyzed iteratively. The research design and analysis is inspired by Dryden (2014) who recommends taking the context into account. The three types of digital repository developed by Millar (2010) are used as a comparison to further extend the understanding of the concept of the “middle archive”. Findings – The findings indicate that the “middle archive” was introduced as a solution to practical problems of managing digital records, and that there is a need to further disc...

Recordkeeping in an outsourcing public agency

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss the implications of an outsourcing policy for public recordkeeping. The research question addressed is as follows: What are the current impediments to create, capture, organize and pluralize records produced by contractors to whom work has been outsourced? Design/methodology/approach The paper uses four dimensions of the records continuum model (RCM) as a structure for understanding what important aspects of recordkeeping that can be affected by an outsourcing policy and discuss the consequences for the creation of public archives. An investment project at a Swedish public agency with a far-reaching outsourcing policy in the form of a client–contractor model is used as a case to exemplify the problem. Findings The findings indicate that the legal framework for recordkeeping needs further development, or clarification as to how it should be interpreted in the outsourcing context. More case studies are needed to provide richer data about recordkeeping challenges arising from outsourcing and further opportunities for theoretical analysis using the RCM. Originality/value The RCM has been used in a first attempt to understand various aspects of records management practices and what principles need to be taken into account when making such significant organizational structural and cultural changes.