Taking the archive out: integrating archive holdings in a fragmented digital world

Music and musical knowledge are accessed in diverse ways, including private recording collections (either physical or digital), online repositories such as Soundcloud, Spotify, YouTube and subject specific sites. These are often shared within community groups via social media. Institutional sound archives frequently hold additional materials that are often more historic and rare, yet are not easily integrated into day to day listening experiences. Within such a fragmented digital environment how does the archive build bridges between institutional sound archives and community archiving processes? How can the latent potential or the affordances of archival materials be exploited in order to engage diverse communities and to reconnect citizens, both at home and in the diaspora, with cultural heritage? This paper will explore such methods as exhibitions, community engagement programmes and ‘pop-up archives’ - listening and recording sessions in community venues - to broaden the archives’ reach and relevance for diverse audiences today.