Mid Sweden University

The purpose of this thesis is to study, highlight and analyse what factors are involved in the work of digitising cultural heritage with a focus on the ABM institutions' archive and museum’s metadata management. Studying this is of interest as both the lack of cooperation and similar working methods mentioned in previous research can make the cultural heritage information that has been digitised difficult or impossible to find for users. In a qualitative comparative case study, interviews and a document study were conducted with a city archive and a museum institution, and the document study was mainly based on material from the National Archives and the Swedish National Heritage Board. The theoretical basis for the study was based on Terry Cook's four archival paradigms of evidence, memory, identity and society. The case study showed that to facilitate the user's search and use of digitised cultural heritage material, it is of the utmost importance that archives and the museum sector link and label their material. It is essential that both sectors work in the same direction otherwise it is difficult to meet the needs of users today where the internet is the main search engine. Today's society places different demands on how ABM institutions need to work with the digitisation and accessibility of cultural heritage because the user primary use of the Internet. Unless a user focus is implemented with common working methods and systems that ‘talk to each other’ where the needs of the information seeker are put first, above the institutions' own needs, there is a risk that the digital cultural heritage material that is available will not be found.