The aim of this Master’s thesis is to present guidelines for making a digital repository. To attain this, useful factors for creating an archive were examined. Also different organisations’ strategies were analysed. The method used is evidence-based practice, including reading literature and e-mail interviews. Five people in Sweden working with digital repositories were e-mail interviewed. The theory behind the investigation is based on Sheila Corrall’s and Elizabeth Orna’s research on the creation of information strategies. Three main areas were identified: environmental issues, strategic focus and strategy formation. The literature study identified different areas that are involved in creating a digital repository. These are administrative factors, technical aspects, content, publication forms, cultural factors and marketing. In a similar way the interviews clarified why the repositories were created, such as administrative factors, technical aspects, how to publish, quality aspects, marketing, cultural factors and good advice. The literature and the interviews were compared and conclusions were made. These conclusions were used to set up guidelines for developing a digital repository. To create a strategy, the chosen organisation has to be evaluated, which was beyond the scope of this thesis. It is suggested that the thesis is suitable for a starting point, initiating work on digital repositories. / Uppsatsnivå: D

Since the beginning of the 21st century the Open Access-movement, which advocates free online distribution of scholarly information, has gained momentum. Authors can provide Open Access to their work in two main ways: by depositing a copy of their research output in an e-print archive and by publishing in Open Access journals. During the past few years, universities and other research institutions throughout the world have established institutional repositories to manage, preserve and provide access to the intellectual output of the university/research institution. The purpose of this master’s thesis is to describe the implementation of an institutional repository at the Swedish University College of Borås. The thesis also aims to describe the current situation regarding Open Access at the university college. The case study indicates that a requirement for the deposit of references into the repository is believed to have had a significant impact on the contents of the institutional repository. The full-text availability of research publications is, however, at present relatively low. The results show that there are three main barriers in the development of the institutional repository: lack of knowledge regarding Open Access and digital publishing, copyright issues and lack of time. Misconception and uncertainty regarding the guarantee of quality of the digital material are factors that most likely prevent researchers from depositing their research articles into the institutional repository. Librarians play a key role when it comes to informing about self-archiving and Open Access. Our conclusion is that to obtain more research publications in full-text, researchers need to gain more knowledge about institutional repositories and digital publishing. / Uppsatsnivå: D

This thesis investigates the organization culture and information culture in the archives of the Lutheran Church of Sweden. The church is the largest Christian denomination in Sweden. Since the year 2000 it is no longer a state church, though some legal, economic and even mental bonds to the state still exist. The main focus of the thesis is to investigate the influence of cultural aspects on a recent project concerning a general system for information management and digital archiving. A subsequent question is how these cultural aspects may affect the church’s future role as a cultural heritage actor. The thesis, as a framework, uses two models: one for organization culture (Granberg) and one for information culture (Choo). It combines them to a single model and connects them with Kirk’s studies on information use. Four semi-structured interviews, with archivists on national level and in two dioceses, were conducted and transcribed. In addition, related documents were studied. A qualitative analysis was carried out on the data. One conclusion made is that the general culture on national level and in the dioceses can be described as a relationship-based and professional culture. Another conclusion is that parallel cultures do exist within the church, especially in the dioceses. These parallel cultures affect the information use and information behaviour. The diminishing role of the church in the future may be the force which merges these parallel cultures into one. There are also major differences on what to count as the cultural heritage of the church. The author argues that the church should act more decisively to define its heritage and to claim its future role in the field of cultural heritage. This is a two years master’s thesis in Archival Science.

The writings of Yuk Hui, bringing together technical and philosophical insights, provides new theory for the digital, something desired by many in archival research. The aim of this study is to assess the use of Hui’s theories on digital objects and web ontologies as a unifying theory for archival studies, looking at the concept of digital records in particular. Two types of ontology are needed in order to understand digital objects according to Hui: (1) ontologies which relates to the technical language and hierarchies of knowledge representation, like metadata; (2) Ontology, which is the question of Being in the tradition of Heidegger’s phenomenology, the understanding of what it is to be in the world. Both of these ontologies are needed to account for the nature of the digital object. Further, digital objects are produced and constituted through their relations, which can be divided into discursive (technical and logical) and existential (the understanding of being in the world) relations. Digital objects must be approached both as technical formal entities, and as beings in the world. The first register is common, the second – more existential approach – is rarely applied. Using a metatheoretical and hermeneutic method, different conceptions of digital records are discussed, in order to find commonalities and possibilities in relation to Hui’s theory. The digital record as: a process of becoming, information as affordance, context, temporality and evidence are all related to and structured through the application of Hui’s perspective.   The thesis ends with the contribution of a possible redefinition of digital records: A digital record is constituted and concretised as material by discursive and existential relations, that taken together function as a persistent representation. Further, Hui’s digital object theory is suggested as a structuring and unifying theory. In relation to digital records Hui’s theory on digital objects can function as a metatheoretical measure, and a method of critical reading. / Yuk Hui för samman tekniska och filosofiska perspektiv och erbjuder ny teori för det digitala, något som ofta efterfrågas inom arkivvetenskapen. Syftet med denna studie är att applicera Huis teori om digitala objekt och webontologier som en förenande teori för arkivstudier, specifikt i förhållandet till konceptet digitala records. Två typer av ontologi behövs för att förstå digitala objekt enligt Hui: (1) ontologier som relaterar till tekniskt språk och hierarkiska kunskapsrepresentationer, så som metadata; (2) Ontologi som frågan om varat i fenomenologen Martin Heideggers bemärkelse; förståelsen av vad det är att vara i världen. Båda dessa ontologier behövs för att redogöra för det digitala objektets natur. Vidare produceras och konstitueras digitala objekt genom sina relationer, som kan delas upp i diskursiva (tekniska och logiska) och existentiella (förståelsen av att vara i världen) relationer. Digitala objekt måste förstås både som tekniska formella entiteter och som varelser i världen. Det första perspektivet är vanligt förekommande medan det andra – mer existentiella förhållningssättet – sällan tillämpas. Med hjälp av en metateoretisk och hermeneutisk metod diskuteras olika föreställningar om digitala records för att hitta likheter och möjligheter i relation till Huis teori. Digitala records som: en process av tillblivande, information som affordance, kontext, temporalitet och bevis är koncept som relateras och struktureras genom tillämpningen av Huis perspektiv.   Uppsatsen bidrar med en möjlig omdefinition av digitala records: Ett digitalt record konstitueras och konkretiseras som materiellt genom diskursiva och existentiella relationer vilka, tillsammans, fungerar som en ihållande representation. Vidare framhålls Huis teori för digitala objekt som en strukturerande och förenande teori. I relation till digitala records kan Huis teori om digitala objekt fungera som ett metatoretiskt mått och en metod för kritisk läsning.

En stor del av vårt kulturarv och samtidshistoria förmedlas genom konstutställningar på privata/ enskilda konsthallar och konstmuseer. Förutom en konstupplevelse möts vi också av dold information som visar metoder, teknik och olika ställningstagande som gjorts för att kunna tillgängliggöra en utställning. Allt detta ger oss viktig information om samtidens fysiska och digitala arenor. För att få tillgång till information om dagens utställningar även i framtiden krävs att informationen bevaras (arkiveras/lagras) och att den går att återfinna. Studiens syfte har varit att undersöka hur fyra privata/enskilda aktörer dokumenterar, bevarar och tillgängliggör sina utställningar och hur de ser på begreppet kulturarv samt hur den rådande corona-pandemin 2020/2021 påverkat dem i deras arbete. Studien har också undersökt hur digitala modeller, verktyg och arbetssätt har använts av några statliga/offentliga konstmuseer, som ett sätt att utveckla utställningspresentationen utifrån ett globalt och långsiktigt perspektiv och underlätta planering och samarbete kring utställningsproduktion. Slutsatsen är att den privata/enskilda kultursektorn har ett annat uppdrag, krav och behov av att förmedla konst än vad den statliga/offentliga kultursektorn har. Därför kan man se skillnader i sättet att se på dokumentation, bevarande och tillgängliggörande. Pandemiåret 2020 har utvecklat deras sätt att tänka och arbeta kring kulturinformation och distribution. Besökare och arrangörer har fått ändra sitt fysiska beteende med tanke på smittspridning/social distansering och blivit hänvisade till digitala alternativ. Detta har ökat tillgängligheten till konsten också för de grupper som inte tidigare kunnat fysiskt bevista en utställning. Ett nytt kulturkommunikationssätt med interaktivitet har initierats och en ny form av kulturkonsumtion, kultur on-demand, har utvecklats. / A large part of our cultural heritage and contemporary history is conveyed through art exhibitions at private art galleries and art museums. In addition to an art experience, we also encounter hidden information concerning aspects such as methods, technology and various positions taken to be able to use an exhibition. All this gives us important information about contemporary physical and digital arenas. In order to have access to information about today's exhibitions even in the future, it is necessary that the information is preserved (archived/stored) and that it can be found. The purpose of the study has been to investigate how four private art galleries and art museums document, preserve, make their exhibitions available, how they view the concept of cultural heritage, as well as how the prevailing corona pandemic 2020/2021 has affected them in their work. In addition, the study has also examined how digital models, tools and working methods have been used by public art museums, as a way to develop the exhibition presentation from a global and long-term perspective as well as to facilitate planning and collaboration around exhibition production. The conclusion is that private art galleries and museums have a different mission, requirements and need to convey art than the public art museums has. Therefore, one can see differences in the way of looking at documentation, preservation and making the information available. The pandemic year 2020 has developed their way of thinking about and working with cultural information and distribution. Visitors and organizers have had to change their physical behavior in view of the spread of infection/social distancing and have been referred to digital alternatives. This has increased the accessibility of art also for those groups who have not previously physically attended an art exhibition. A new way of cultural communication with interactivity has been initiated and a new form of cultural consumption, culture on-demand, has been developed.