In this post, guest blogger Lauren Istvandity provides an overview of a journal article written by Sarah Baker (Griffith University) and
Jez Collins (Birmingham City University) that emerged from the ARC funded project “Do-it-yourself popular
music archives” and which was recently published in the journal International Journal of Heritage Studies.
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Both online and physical sites of DIY
archives face particular challenges when it comes to maintaining their
collecting and exhibition practices, especially in the long-term. Key factors
affecting these sites include volunteer attrition, copyright and piracy laws,
access to appropriate storage space, motivation, and funding opportunities, all
of which may lead to the closure of archives. While authorized institutions
such as national archives and museums may also face some threats to their
longevity, challenges confronting volunteer-run archives are underscored by a
lack of financial and in-kind support from external sources.
As Sarah Baker and Jez Collins found, these
DIY sites face closure frequently, as evidenced by the remnants of both
physical and online archives’ websites still residing on the internet. The Jazz Museum Bix Eiben Hamburg, a physical archive, and the online archives Mutant Sounds and Holy Warbles are three examples of sites recently closed due to
sustainability issues.
Despite the obvious differences between
physical and online archives, they are both subject to similar problems in that
they run purely on the work of passionate individuals. Both Jazz Museum Bix
Eiben Hamburg and Mutant Sounds
describe the health of founding members as reasons for archive closure. The
ageing workforce that typically fuels DIY archives makes such sites more
vulnerable to closure for such reasons. Without the driving force of a founder
or equally impassioned team, the motivation for others to continue collecting
and displaying artefacts is decreased. As Sarah found in her visits to the
Victorian Jazz Archive in Australia (now the Australian Jazz Museum), “passing the baton” of responsibility to
younger generations is at the forefront of the archives’ stability plan.
Another central aspect that can cripple the
activity of archives is the imposition of copyright laws that prohibit the
unlicensed sharing of copyrighted material. This is particularly damaging for
the practices of music archives, where rare and bootleg recordings hold a level
of cultural, rather than monetary, value for fans. A systematic closure of
websites stemming from a US court ruling in 2012 meant the end for the online
music archive Holy Warbles, the
founder of which was helpless to stop the termination of his site.
So what can be done to pre-empt these
issues and stem the tide of DIY archives and museums that are reluctantly giving up the
ghost? If these recent closures serve as instructive examples, current and
future archival projects must construct contingency plans that look toward
long-term outcomes. One solution is to consider collection integration, where
one archive is absorbed by another when facing circumstances of insurmountable
challenges. At present, such an idea garners much opposition from archival
managers, who fear for the loss of artefacts and autonomy that would occur
during integration. How might this be
overcome? In the medium-term, managers of DIY archives can look strategically
at aspects such as volunteer up-skilling, archive location, public outreach,
and succession planning, all of which may prolong the ‘shelf-life’ of the
archive. Online archivists should keep on track with new technology trends, and
look to update their archive platform on a regular basis to avoid redundancy.
World-wide, DIY archives play an important
role in providing public access to popular music artefacts that are often neglected
by mainstream heritage institutions. As such, it is imperative that all
concerned identify and strategise against the identified challenges to securing
long-term futures for DIY heritage sites.
