”Och det är ju så här, alla tycker det ärjättetråkigt med arkiv.” : Om arkivkompetens, ansvar och organisering i kommuner utan arkivarie

Sammanfattning

This master's thesis explores how the municipal archival function is organized and operated in Swedish municipalities that do not have an educated archivist. The study aims to highlight the consequences of this absence of specialist competence regarding archival care and the management of public records. The thesis used a qualitative approach, conducting semi-structured interviews with chief administrative officers and archival staff in three small municipalities, supplemented by an analysis of governing documents such as archival regulations. The theoretical framework is based on new-institutional theory, specifically the concept of decoupling. The findings show that archival responsibilities are carried out by registrars and other administrative staff who are expected to perform many of the same tasks as a trained archivist despite lacking formal archival education, specialist expertise, and sufficient time resources. Archival work is typically integrated into part-time or shared positions, resulting in a strong focus on immediate operational demands rather than long-term strategic development. The study also reveals a generally low level of knowledge and understanding of records management issues within municipal departments. Furthermore, a clear decoupling is identified between formal regulations and actual practice, particularly regarding statutory supervision and records management. This is a two years master’s thesis in Archival Science.