Community and Interoperability at the Core of Sustaining Image Archives

In our paper, we discuss how the digital domain extends the sustainability of analogue archives through communication with the public. Our interdisciplinary research project "Participatory Knowledge Practices in Analogue and Digital Image Archives" (PIA) is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (2021–2025) and developed in cooperation with the photographic archives of the Swiss Society for Folklore Studies (SSFS). It aims to increase the use of image-based research data by developing participatory tools and deploying shared application programming interfaces (APIs) such as standards that adhere to the Linked Open Usable Data (LOUD) design principles. By involving the public, the project aims to increase the overall use of image-based research data. This makes data more sustainable in interaction with the analogue archive and increases the attractiveness of digital infrastructures.