A New Range of Tools for Researching Archives A New Range of Tools for Researching Archives

Since its launch in 2020, the Collecting Otherwise working group has been investigating the influence of archival institutions on how we, as a society, preserve memories, record urban history and shape heritage. In doing so, the working group takes a critical stance on the notion of ‘neutral’ heritage. By using case studies from the architecture collection of the Nieuwe Instituut, exploring annual themes on collecting practices and developing shared tools, Collecting Otherwise is creating an alternative approach to archiving.

The new manuals invite a wide audience to experience these tools and insights for themselves. They are intended to inspire and support those who wish to engage with archives in a careful and conscientious manner.

One of the project’s core principles is ‘neighbourly borrowing’: the exchange of knowledge, methods and tools with other heritage professionals and communities. This is facilitated by the Tool Shed platform, for example, which brings archive and heritage communities together to develop more equitable archival practices. The manuals are a direct result of this.

The Collecting Otherwise working group is made up of smaller subgroups. Each of the five manuals was created by one of these groups and is based on the insights, tools and strategies developed by the group members in recent years.

This tool helps to prioritise care for the material, the donor, the receiving institution and the archivist during the archive acquisition process. The Archival Care Rider encourages us to reconsider the expectations and forms of interaction within this process. By making joint agreements, space is created for multiple perspectives and meaningful context.

The Asterisk* tool incorporates new knowledge, voices and stories that were previously excluded or omitted from archival documents. This additional information provides the archive with more context and highlights the fact that archiving is an ongoing process of supplementation and revision. You can get started right away with the online Asterisk* tool via the Collection Platform.

This tool offers a new way of looking at colonial architecture archives and encourages community involvement. By visiting places where colonial buildings still stand and mapping memories and current functions alongside them, a richer picture of their significance emerges. This tool is intended for anyone who wants to highlight traces of the colonial past in today’s built environment.

This tool helps us to understand stories that are spread across multiple archives. Rather than viewing each archive as a closed entity, the ‘supra-archive’ encourages us to make connections between documents in different locations. This creates a more complete, layered picture of the past, spanning institutional boundaries.

A working group ensures that projects, whether institutional or self-organised, are supported by different perspectives, disciplines and approaches. This collaborative approach fosters broader insights, greater involvement and alternative modes of communication and organisation. It puts under-represented voices centre-stage, helping us to question existing norms and develop new forms of mutual care.