Creating value of the past through negotiations in the present: balancing professional authority with influence of participants

Abstract

This article investigates how an online forum for a participatory archive project can offer a platform for controlled power-sharing between archivists and participants. Additionally, it explains how participants affect the processes, structures, and end usability of the information resource they are invited to create, with a focus on representability and the ethical responsibility of archivists. This study takes its point of departure in a participatory online transcription project: Begravelser 1861–1912. The influence of participants is studied through observation of the communication between archivists and transcribers in an online discussion forum. Theoretical concepts of maximalist and minimalist participation are used to contextualize levels of user influence. The study uses a framework inspired by Community-based participatory research (CBPR) to analyze the communication. The results show how participants used the forum to gain influence in the project, and how several elements of CBPR—shared influence, mutual development, and mutual use—were manifested in the forum. The conclusion is that using a CBPR approach in participatory projects can produce synergetic effects of increased knowledge and enhanced archival responsibility in conjunction with sustainable participatory engagement.