Web archiving by activist-archives: benefits and barriers

This article addresses the capability and willingness of activist-archivists to archive activist materials online. Community-based archiving has been vital in combatting the erasure of minoritized people in traditional archival praxis and creating archives that inspire activism. The typical hybridity of contemporary social movements, with groups coordinating action across online and offline environments, raises the question, Is web archiving a vital activity for activist-archivists? We ask whether activist groups are archiving digital activism and what barriers activist-archivists face in doing this. We report findings from a postmodern feminist ethnographic project engaging 16 activist-archivists from 10 community-based archives across northern England and Scotland, including feminist, anarchist, working-class, Black, and queer projects, as well as four archive-sector professionals. Our analysis shows that the same challenges plaguing community-based archives collecting physical materials – including limited volunteer time, expertise, and funding – persist and are perhaps exacerbated when it comes to digital content. It also reveals unanticipated obstacles, namely, beliefs in the ineffectualness of social media as vehicles for change as well as perceived risks connected to digitizing oppositional activist content.