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Brief summary:
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The role
of the archivist in exploiting and accessing open data as public records in
an open government environment is explored. The possible role,
responsibilities and mandate of an archivist in this new public sector
context are examined. Necessary knowledge, skills
and competence are identified.
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Content:
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Expectations
of a more proactive release of public records and technical developments
that support new ways of publishing and reusing digital information, for
example as open data on the internet, create new challenges and change the
way public records are managed and made accessible to citizens, which will
also involve new professions in the management of records. Fundamentally
this raises questions of how, in this new management environment, the
trustworthiness of the records could be maintained and how the archives and
records management profession could contribute to this, related to other
professionals involved in these processes.
In Sweden
there is a long tradition of openness and citizens´ right to access public
records. But with the implementation of e-government follows a new perception
of what openness means and “open government” is a concept that seems to go
further and be more proactive. A part of this study will be to analyze and
define what is meant by ‘open government’ and ‘open data’ as they are used
in Sweden, i.e. how ‘open data’ differs from ‘public records’ for example. In
Sweden
there is no formal records manager profession, but the archivist often does
the corresponding work. That is why this project also includes the
archivists´ role in the open government environment.
This
study will reflect upon the archivists´ role in this process and what is
needed to ensure a trusted proactive release of public records. To identify
what skills, guidelines, knowledge and mandate are needed. The study will
focus on Stockholm
City’s work on open
data, which is an important part of the open government agenda, through the
perspective of Stockholm City Archives.
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Scientific contribution:
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Case
study methods are used to examine the role of the archivist in the domain
of access to public records in an open government and open data
environment. The study examines what role an archivist in the public sector
currently has, and what knowledge, skills and competence are needed for
these new challenges.
Interpretation
of existing work and the perception of the situation by practicing
archivists in this changing environment provide valuable data. The case
study is based on the City of Stockholm
because it is quite progressive in its work on open data. It is now running
an open data project, in which the Stockholm City Archive plays an active
role. The role of the archivist in practice, experiences and possible needs
and missing factors will be explored. Data will be collected by interviews
and text analysis. Needed strategies and guidelines will be identified.
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