Archives in a changing climate: proposing new “solutions” for a new era

The International Conference on the History of Records and Archives (I-CHORA) has been held since 2003 as a periodic conference aimed at encouraging and promoting interdisciplinary research into the history of records, recordkeeping practices and recordkeeping institutions. Conferences to date have taken place in Toronto (2003), Amsterdam (2005 and 2015), Boston (2007), Perth (2008), London (2010) and Austin (2012), each attracting between 100 and 130 scholars and professionals from around the world (Foscarini et al. 2016, pp. xi–v). The eighth iteration, I-CHORA 8, was held at Monash University in Melbourne on 28–30 May 2018. The theme of the conference was “Archives in a Changing Climate” (http://ichora.org/). Participants discussed the multiplicity of historical contexts in which archives are created, transmitted, preserved and reactivated, and the fast pace of change to which contemporary recordkeepers have to adjust to keep up with new technologies and new expectations.