Arkivariens ideal kontra verklighet : arbetsförutsättningars betydelse för arkivariers handlingsutrymme i relation till lagstiftning vid svenska myndighetsarkiv

Sammanfattning

The purpose of this thesis is to examine how working conditions at Swedish government archives affect archivists' possibilities to comply with the Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act, the Freedom of the Press Act and the Archives Act, how working conditions affect archivists' discretion in relation to these legislations, as well as how archivists prioritize in their work duties. For these purposes, a study was conducted based on interviews with six archivists working at four government archives – two district courts and two city archives. The study concludes that, concerning the Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act, access to legal expertise is an important factor for correct secrecy assessments. When such access is absent, combined with high workload, compliance with the law becomes difficult due to time constraints and stress, increasing the risk of errors. Challenges also arise for archives that support external agencies that use insecure digital systems. Regarding the Freedom of the Press Act, there appears to be a professional consensus that public records should generally be released within one to two days in simple cases and within a week in more complex cases, which indicates a limited discretion when interpreting the law. Although these expectations can generally be met, high demand for certain records combined with other work tasks may force archivists to delay the process. Concerning the Archives Act, arrangement, cataloguing, and archival preservation are often deprioritised in favour of more urgent tasks, without being perceived as a violation of the law. Meanwhile, the highest priority within government archives is expeditious handling of cases and there appears to be limited discretion for any other outlook.