UNDERSTANDING EMOTIONAL ENGAGEMENT IN PUBLIC HERITAGE ARCHIVE USERS AND CURATORS

Abstract

Public archives that are involved with heritage are not solely sites of collection. They can also be emotional spaces and places for users and curators. Knowing and considering emotional relations in public archive context lays the groundwork in enhancing accessibility, generating stronger connections, and encourages consideration of more inclusive practice in and with archives. The research presented in this paper, draws in angles of user and curatorial cognition and emotion, through the methods of interviews, observations and emotional mapping. It presents findings of networks of emotional resonance, emotional labor, as well as, responses triggered by memory along with diverse user groups and curatorial roles, as well as the impact of culture or even identity, personal relevance, or digital relations. The study demonstrates that beyond curation and engagement with archival heritage, emotional experiences are active and subject to contextual negotiation, and are relevant to archival satisfaction, interpretive behavior and trust concerning institutional / archival narratives. The work thus advances emotions as a framework for emotional affordances in archives, providing opportunities for ideation for design of empathic (inter)faces (e.g. for co-curation and research) and training (for curators). By contributing to both archival theory and user experience research, I advocate for archives that are emotionally aware of inclusive, ethical and participatory heritage.