• The Korean Journal of Archival Studies
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• no.38
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• pp.225-264
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• 2013

The Purpose of this study is to analyze an active discussion in North America about the issue of community archives governance which mainly focused on 'participatory archives' model and from it, draws implications for the present stage of domestic community archives development. Traditionally in the United States and Canada, local community archives have been built mostly by mainstream cultural institutions such as public archives, public libraries, museums, and historical societies as a part of comprehensive documentation of the society at large. At the same time, they have been processed and managed in accordance with the institution's collection development policy. As a result, most community archives in North America are characterized as top-down community archives model (in contrast with down-up model of 'independent' community archives as a part of grass roots movement in the UK). Recently, the community archives in North America with these characteristics try to overcome their limitations, which result in 'the others' of community archives, through governance, that is, community-institution partnership. Participatory archives model which assumes active community participation in all archives processes is being suggested by archival communities as the effective alternative of governance model of top-down community archives. This discussion of community archives governance suggests progressive direction for the present stage of domestic community archives, which has been built mostly by various mainstream cultural institutions and still has been stayed in 'about the community' stage. Particularly, community outreach strategies that participatory archives model concretely suggests are useful as a conceptual framework in building community archives based on community-institution partnership in reality.