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Presentation "Change and stability in archives, libraries and museums : Mapping professional experiences in Sweden" at the eRemembrance or eOblivion? – International Conference on the Society’s Memory Functions in the Digital World 23-24 November, 2015 in Tampere, Finland.
Abstract
Introduction. One of the most prominent topics of professional and academic archives, libraries and museums (ALMs) related literature revolves around the questions of change and continuity of the institutions. The aim of the study is to find how ALM professionals conceptualise factors that contribute to continuity and change at their institutions.
Method. The analysis is based on a qualitative analysis of 131 open ended questions included in a web survey of Swedish ALM professionals conducted in February-March 2011.
Analysis. The data were analysed using qualitative content analysis.
Results. Borrowing from the field theory of Lewin and its derivative, force-field analysis, the professional articulations of the strengths and future prospects of their institutions are interpreted in terms of strategic forces that influence change and stability at ALMs. The study shows that the forces that impede and catalyse change are overlapping to a significant degree that indicates of the possibility of highly disparate alternative strategy formulations for the institutions.
Conclusions. More focus on defining the ownership of the strategic goals at ALMs and defining the operating space and core domains of the organisations is essential for formulating their future strategies.
Keywords: archives, libraries, museums, change, strategies