Elizabeth Shaffer

The aim of this thesis is to explore the futurity of two international archival initiatives: Saving Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Online (SUCHO) and the Endangered Archives Programme (EAP). To accomplish this, the mechanics of archival work as articulated by the Association of Canadian Archivists, the Society of American Archivists, and the International Council on Archives were synthesized and placed in conversation with theories of intergenerational justice to argue that archivists can be obligated out of considerations of justice to conduct their practice for the benefit of future generations. A framework for “sustainable archives”—archives which enable present generations to meet their recordkeeping needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own recordkeeping needs—was developed to aid archivists in reconfiguring their practice to be more future-oriented in nature. A grounded theory approach to content analysis was utilized to discern the underlying assumptions about records, archives, and the applicability of archival praxis in future-oriented contexts exhibited through the websites of SUCHO and the EAP. This thesis concluded that neither SUCHO nor the EAP were entirely compatible with the sustainable archives framework, but that archives and archival associations can more intentionally become “future-beneficial” institutions by implementing “future beneficial” mechanisms in their institutions to achieve a better balance between the legitimate recordkeeping needs of present generations and the potential recordkeeping needs of future generations.

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