Archival Paradigms: The Past, Present and Digitsed Future of Danish Archiving

ABSTRACT:
Terry Cook’s paradigms of evidence, memory, identity, and community are used to discuss the development of Danish archiving, highlighting how archives in Denmark have responded to the challenges posed by digitisation. Like other Nordic countries the history of Danish archiving is closely connected to developments in public sector administration, and in digital archiving to the digitisation of public administrations driven by the Danish Agency for Digitisation. Whereas the evidence and memory paradigms are easily discernible, developments in Danish archiving took a different turn when it comes to identity and community as archival paradigms. The national archives today in general seeks to widen the usability of the archives; the reuse of digital records or data has become a priority, raising topical questions about how the Nordic tradition for transparency, credibility and public trust in the archives can be continued in a world of data sharing. The chapter argues that Danish archiving may have to consider the notion of rights in records, and questions of consent by record subjects, to stay trusted and transparent institutions