Participatory archives in a world of ubiquitous media

by Natalie Pang (editor), Kai Khiun Liew (Editor), Brenda Chang (Editor)

The media environment of today is characterised by two critical the development and adoption of ubiquitous mobile devices, and the strengthening of connectivity enabled by advances in ICT infrastructure and social media platforms. These developments have changed interactions and relationships between citizens and cultural custodians, as well as the ways archives are developed, kept, and used. Archives are now characterised by greater socialisations and networks that actively contribute to the signification of cultural heritage value. A range of new stakeholders, many of whom include the public, have sought to define what needs to be collectively remembered and forgotten. The world in which one or a few professional archivists worked on the sole mission of shaping how a society remembers is being displaced by a more democratised culture and the new generation of digitally networked archivists that are its natives. Using a range of case studies and perspectives, this book provides insights to the many ways that ubiquitous media have influenced archival practices and research, as well as the social and civic consequences of present-day archives. This book was published as a special issue of Archives and Manuscripts .

112 pages, Hardcover

First published April 8, 2015

About the author

Natalie Pang is an Assistant Professor in the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information and Principal Investigator at the Centre of Social Media Innovations for Communities (COSMIC), Nanyang Technological University. Prior to this, she worked on public opinion research at The Gallup Organization, citizen science and participatory methods at Monash University and Museum Victoria. Her research interest is in the area of social informatics, focusing on basic and applied research of social media, information behaviour in crises, and structurational models of technology in marginalised communities.