Several years ago, the editors of this volume concluded that, as professionals and
experienced practitioners, they were getting a little lost. In their daily work, they
could not derive enough grip and guidance from their own archival silo of concepts
and methods anymore. They were also curious if these might be found elsewhere.
Therefore, they decided to try to open their doors and look for new answers.
They decided to make this journey in the unknown by trying to connect to the
information philosophy of Luciano Floridi. The next step was decided upon during a
lengthy discussion over some excellent Belgian beers at the ICA-congress in Brussels
in 2013: we should produce a book on Information Philosophy and Archives.
Our efforts have resulted in this publication. We hope it will be beneficial to
academics, students, professionals and everyone else who is interested in disciplines
like information philosophy, archival science, library science and data science. Its
main emphasis however, still lies on the function and relevance of archives, and on
how to keep and curate a necessary quality and accessibility of information - in
between all other information professions in this digital age.
The contributions in this book are now summarised in the order in which they are
published in this edition.
The first and second chapter are by Geert-Jan van Bussel. The first chapter is an
overview of archival theories and their philosophical foundations, including
modern digital diplomatics and the concept of the records continuum. In his second
contribution Geert-Jan van Bussel presents a new theoretical framework for the
archives in organisational context, based on a pragmatic approach. The "archive-as-
is" is a part of Enterprise Information Management (EIM). In this framework the
value of information, and the ensuing criteria for quality of records play a central
part. The theoretical framework is positioned between modern diplomatics and the
records continuum.
Rienk Jonker's essay is a theoretical exploration in which concepts of Luciano Floridi
and concepts from archival theory are linked. It introduces an information model
and a new definition of an information object. In this way a framework can be
established that can be both of use to the archival professionals and community, as
well as to disciplines like information philosophy and information theory.
In his contribution, Geoffrey Yeo concentrates on several theoretical perspectives,
most notably on speech act theory (or philosophy). His essay considers how notions
of 'information' might relate to a view of record-making and record-keeping that
take account of speech act philosophy. It concludes that records have both social and
informational roles. Speech act theory reminds us that records are not mere
information objects or containers of facts, and it affirms that records do not simply
dissolve into interpretation. At the point of inscription, a record and an action are
interlinked: assertive, directive, commissive, or declarative.
In their article, Arnoud Glaudemans and Jacco Verburgt address the topic of today's
archival transition from analogue to digital, by discussing and comparing Jacques
Derrida and Vilém Flusser. Derrida stresses that, traditionally, an archive is largely
defined by what he calls domiciliation, involving a hierarchical and centralized
gathering and structuring of information. According to Flusser, the realm of digital,
algorithmically processed, information consists of what he calls technical images,
which impose a shift from discursive (or textual) to dialogical (e.g., hyperlinked)
information. This shift would make the traditional, centralized structure of the
archive gradually obsolete, not from a Derridean 'deconstructivist' perspective, but
from a techno-functionalist perspective. The discussion results in raising some
theoretical and practical questions regarding the present-day archive, including the
operational functionalities that need to be built into the digital for reasons of
accountability.
The two following contributions are by Wolfgang Ernst. The first essay is inspired by
Michel Foucault's 'LArchéologie du Savoir'. It explores media archaeology as a cross-
disciplinary field of inquiry, that consists of a radically material and mathematical
approach to the study of cultural change, memory, and knowledge tradition, and
even the very category of time itself. The second essay concentrates on audio-visual
information. Archives, today, can be re-defined in terms of negentropic systems.
How can not only material traces and textual documents, but temporal expressions
(or movements) themselves be preserved for future historiographies? Ernst's answer
lies in discovering, reflecting and techno-mathematically realising new options of
flexible access.
Fiorella Foscarini and Juan Ilerbaig reflect on the basic concept of context. They use
a semiotic approach in which they provide insights that point to an expanded and
more dynamic view of text-context relationships. Rhetorical Genre Studies (RGS)
offer a set of concepts and analytical tools that shed light on the social context of
records creation and use. By looking at intertextual relationships in the archives,
archivists can develop a better insight as to the mechanisms involved in the choices
made by record creators and users; an insight that in turn elucidates context as a
situated construct.
The following chapter is a reflection by Charles Jeurgens on the position of
recordkeeping in the digital age, and on accountability and transparency in view of
the current data-flood. He argues that the present and mainstream views of
appraisal in the recordkeeping community should radically change. We should focus
on understanding and managing the assemblages between data and the processing
mechanisms (for instance algorithms) in situated practices.
Anne Gilliland's essay is about metadata. It puts the concept of metadata in
historical perspective. In the past decades the concept has had a profound influence
on archival theory. The essay raises fundamental questions about the relationship
between records and metadata, about metadata practices and standards and about
their ethical implications.
Another basic concept in archival theory: provenance is the subject of the essay of
Giovanni Michetti. Provenance in the archival domain has moved from a simplistic
one-to-one relationship to a multi-dimensional approach. It is now being
understood as a network of relationships between objects, agents and functions.
Any lack of control over provenance determines some uncertainty which in turn
affects trust in digital objects, so we will have to develop new ways to approach
and ascertain digital provenance.
introduction
X
XI