This thesis examines how images are used and evaluated in a Swedish archival context. Images as of today are very common in society. They are nearly everywhere, particularly in our phones and computers. Therefore the written word is slowly losing it's sovereignty as a carrier of information. With this background the study examines if the images role also have changed in an archival setting. The following work is a qualitative research study that examines three Swedish archives: the Regional State Archive in Uppsala, Swedish Labour Movement's Archives and Library in Stockholm and the Centre for Business History in Stockholm. Furthermore the study examines how the institutions organize images and how they make them accessible for the public. It also examines what role the image play as a carrier of information in the archive. In more general terms the study also investigates what function the image can have for people in society. The comparison of the archival institutions is a methodological foundation for this study. Semi- structured interviews were conducted with archivists from the three institutions and works as the main source. For the analysis this study uses document theory and a few concepts derived from Terry Cook's archival theory, namely evidence, memory, identity and community. In terms with the previous research made on the subject this study comes to the result that images have different terms for archiving than other materials, most specifically papers documents. The examined archival institutions are today using the same tools for organizing images as they use for other documents. This can have negative effects on the ability the image has as a carrier of information. In the long run this could cause the image to become a marginalized part of the archive as a whole. The conclusion this mater's thesis presents is that the image has a potential as a source of information. Especially for groups that aren't previously represented in the archive through traditional paper documents. The image may therefore contribute to the archival pluralism and diversity, as long as the images are treated with the terms they demand as an archival document. This is a two years master's thesis in Archival Science.

The purpose of this thesis is to reveal the age-related norms which control the process of making public archives accessible. It focuses on physical access and visitors at the physical archival institutions. More specifically, it examines which groups are not included in the archival institutions’ target groups and why this is the case, the archival employees’ views on visitors’ needs and the archival institutions’ action space regarding the process of making archives accessible. The theoretical framework for this thesis is a combination of a norm critical and an intersectional perspective. The main method used is qualitative interviews with employees at archival institutions. Two different archival institutions have been examined, which are both departments of public authorities. The main result of the thesis is that there exist normative systems within the archival institutions which favour elderly people and people within the academic world. Age also matters less for people within the academic world. Accordingly, people outside of these groups can be regarded as non-target groups. Factors which can contribute to exclusion are also non-western origin and to be occupied at daytime. The explanations to why some groups are excluded are lack of resources and knowledge, a reactive approach, and the institutions’ opening hours. Regarding visitors’ needs, many visitors need help searching for material and formulating their needs, which they can also expect to be helped with. Needs which the archival employees can not satisfy are extensive reading of handwriting or carrying out research for the visitor. In general, it seems that people within the archival institutions’ target groups are more likely to get the exact help they need. The archival employees have a relatively great action space when it comes to making archives accessible, as the policy documents don’t mention this activity in detail. This is a two years master’s thesis in Archive, Library and Museum studies.

The study sought to develop a framework for access and use of documentary heritage at the National Archives of Zimbabwe (NAZ). This followed the realization that access and use is the raison d'être for national archival institutions yet the level of utilization has for a long time been lamented to be low. The researcher therefore took a holistic approach and investigated the issues of bibliographic, intellectual and physical access to archives. Using a grounded theory research approach framed within the constructivism ontology and the interpretivism epistemological research paradigm, this study employed the observation technique, interviews and content analysis to collect the empirical evidence that was needed to develop a framework for access and use of the documentary heritage in the custody of NAZ. The study extensively discussed the methodological issues involved in the study as grounded theory is a rarely used approach in Information Science studies. An extensive discussion was therefore offered to enable readers to follow and appreciate how the not so common approach was actually employed. The findings of the study showed that the position of NAZ as a public information resource centre was threatened by many obstacles that were compromising the accessibility and use of the documentary heritage in its custody. Such hindrances included the absence of a national policy on access to public archives, the absence of an institutional access policy, the absence of a standing committee on access and use of archives, lack of a budget, increasing backlogs of unprocessed archives, misconstrued public perception, the absence of special facilities for the physically challenged, centralised access to archives, access restrictions placed by legal instruments as well as limited use of digital technology, no use of the print media and Web 2.0 technologies. Using the findings of the study, the researcher offered a framework for enhanced access and use of archives to serve as a baseline on which archivists may reflect and improve on their practices. / Information Science

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