Patrimonio archivístico e historia pública: crónica de una experiencia

Abstract

Traditionally, archives have had the preservation of historical documentation as their main objective, but the so-called “boom” in public history –which has been developing for several decades– seems to have begun to influence the logic in which the archives understand their own role. In consequence, some of these institutions begin to value their collections from a patrimonial and didactic perspective, fostering actions to make these collections more visible and offer them to wider audiences. In certain cases, these initiatives are linked to public history practices, when archives become promoters of dialogue and cooperation between academics, local communities, and audiences. In this paper, we will present one of these cases: a collaborative experience with General Archive of the Consell of Mallorca, based on the principle of shared authority. The result has been an exhibition, an illustrated publication, several dissemination conferences and didactic activities, and a crowdsourcing project which we are currently developing.