Archival Advocacy: A Case Study of Silpakorn University Archives

Abstract

Archival work is important for an organization as the guardian of the past, providing historical evidence and acting as a source of cultural information. However, the importance of archives becomes less recognized since they cannot generate massive income from the investment of preservation. The management of archives currently faces many problems, and most of these obstacles result from the failure to recognize the value of archival work. Thus, archivists have to promote archival collections and launch a public relations campaign to raise the public awareness of the collective cultural heritage. In the case where archives lack sufficient resources for curating and managing collections, people who understand the value tend to help within their capacity. This research selects to study Silpakorn University Archive (SUA) as an experimental subject in application of the concept of archival advocacy. The university has a long history back to the reign of King Rama VI and also offers a master course of archives management. The situation of SUA is tacit with pervasive problems like other archives around the world. To express the problems, the researcher applies Thematic Analysis, and then compares that to the challenges faced by other archives, derived from the literature review process. This study finally proposes a guideline to develop the archival work at Silpakorn University in a sustainable manner. The result shows that SUA had better conduct archival advocacy activities to solve the operation problem.

-