Editorial

Abstract

This issue is the culmination of work across the profession and academia, under the leadership of our Special Issue Guest Editors Dr Mike Jones and Rachel Tropea. Mike and Rachel have worked with authors to produce this special issue over the past 18 months, and the outcome is a collection of papers, reflections and a significant conversation that document the current state of the ‘two sides of the same coin’ in archival research and practice, and looks to the future.

Special issues of Archives and Manuscripts play an important role in creating spaces for focussed discussion on contemporary topics, and for documenting the key issues for the society and profession at a moment in time. Past special issues reflect this temporality – in 2019 the special issue ‘After the Digital Revolution’ considered the challenges of the digital in literary archives, whereas 25 years earlier the journal published a special issue that considered the broader challenge of ‘Electronic recordkeeping: Issues and perspectives’ (1994). The nuanced focus in 2019 on digital literary archives was enabled by the previous decades worth of research and publishing in the field.

We are excited to have more special issues on the horizon, including a 2025 issue planned to document the outcomes of the Tandanya-Adelaide Declaration Symposium, held in Christchurch, Aotearoa in October 2024. We encourage academics and professionals to consider Archives and Manuscripts as a potential home for collaborative ideas and engagement through special issue proposals.

Angela Schilling
Dr Jessie Lymn
General Editors