01706nas a2200145   4500000000100000008004100001260002200042100001600064700001300080700002300093245006300116300001200179520134700191020002201538       2023                            d  bRoutledgeaLondon1 aIsto Huvila1 aGreg Bak1 aMarianne Rostgaard00aOn Archives and User Participation in the Nordic Countries  a225-2363 aDespite the prominence of participatory discourse in archival literature and practice, there is hardly any consensus of what a participatory archive is, even if a certain idea of the positive impacts of engaging with the world outside of archives unites different understandings. This chapter elaborates on different understandings of participation and explores what its dissimilar and sometimes contradictory frames of reference imply for the theory and practice of participatory archives in the digital age, seen from the perspective of Nordic archives professionals. The chapter focuses on user participation, and its relation to the societal role of archives, based on a review of earlier literature, exploring linkages between professionals  perceptions of the rationale and impact of participation and their conceptualisation of the societal role of archives and archival institutions. While little so far suggests that participation and the purpose archives play in the society are in direct conflict, this chapter suggests that the current situation can be described in terms of an interregnum between two modus operandi \textendash an older view of archives as fundamentally oriented towards government administration and academic historical research, and a new one of archives as a resource for citizens, managed with citizen input.  a978-1-00-332540-6