Estudos de usuários da informação no âmbito dos arquivos presentes nos anais do Congresso Nacional de Arquivologia (2004-2018)

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the scenario of investigations on the topic of studies of information users in the context of archives, present in the Congresso Nacional de Arquivologia (CNA) annals, from 2004 to 2018, identifying which papers published in this context have dealt with this subject, how they are characterized according to the approaches of user studies of Information Science (IS), methodologies, instruments and theoretical foundations. The study is justified because the archival area is increasingly inserted in a post-custodial paradigm, in which access to information has been the rule, being directed to users. It was developed from October 2020 to August 2021, being of applied nature, with a quali-quantitative approach, exploratory and bibliographic character and with the use of documental sources. As results, were identified 10 publications on the topic of user studies in the context of archives, representing 1.84% of the total work of the CNA in the investigated timespan. These publications present user studies characterized as an alternative approach to IS, prevailing the use of quali-quantitative methodology, with a bibliographic and descriptive character, in which there was application of surveys, interviews and examination of consultation forms of the archive’s users. As theoretical foundations of the works, was identified the presence of literature from Archiving, Information Science and Librarianship. It can be noticed that there is a lack of archival theoretical framework on the subject and few experiences of user studies in archives. It is expected to bring motivation for other students and archivists to research the subject and elucidate the relevance of these types of studies for archival thinking and practice.