ICARUS

Centre for Archives and Records Research (ICARUS)

• Home
• Research activity
• People
• Research seminars
• Jenkinson Lectures
• Contact Us
• DIS Home Page

About ICARUS

ICARUS: International Centre for Archives and Records Management Research and User Studies

Founded in 2005, ICARUS is a research centre embedded in the Department of Information Studies (UCL:DIS). Its purpose is to: 

Develop knowledge and enhance understanding of the creation, management and use of records and their role in society, and Map, monitor and evaluate significant changes in the archives and records domain using robust evidence-based methods.

Its objectives for the period 2007-2012 are to:

• Evaluate the impact of information policy (data protection, freedom of information, national archives and records legislation) and e-government on archives and records management services with particular reference to legislative and policy developments and the requirements of digital records of government
• Investigate the impact of archives (and cultural heritage more generally) on individuals and communities, focusing on the impact of archives, and access to archives, in terms of individual and community identity, and on the wider social outcomes that flow from the interaction between heritage and identity
• Evaluate the needs of a diverse range of archives and records management service users, both onsite and online, critically examine description and other access mechanisms, and develop new models for description, service delivery and impact assessment
• Develop deeper understanding of the meaning of records, and of the nexus between records and organisational systems, in the present and historically
• Develop research infrastructure requirements, including research web resources, and methodologies, embracing evidence-based and user-centred methods, which make a unique contribution to the archives and records management discipline.

ICARUS takes advantage of the cross-disciplinary environment of UCL:DIS and seeks to bring in skills, knowledge and best practice from other related domains (including but not limited to library, information and museum studies, computer science, public policy, corporate governance and law). It brings together expertise from a range of disciplines and includes practitioner professionals, academics and users, to undertake funded research, support scholarship and disseminate research results. It attracts high quality research students, academic staff and affiliates and acts as a bridge between UCL:DIS and the archives and records profession.

ICARUS has pioneered close interaction between research and professional practice, for example involving practitioners in interviews, focus groups, advisory boards and testing of outputs; in research on community archives with the UK National Council on Archives; through collaboration on digital description and enhanced provision of remote user access with The National Archives; and through the LEADERS project which was commended by the Arts and Humanities Research Council for its outstanding approach to practitioner-orientated research.

ICARUS is developing a unique and exciting programme of research which will be of real benefit to the academic, professional and user communities.