Interview with the head of the Graz City Archives, Dr. Wolfram Dornik, about the Citizen Archive Platform (https://citizenarchive.eu/en/), a collaborative personal digital archiving platform spearhead by the Graz City Archives (Austria) and the Aschaffenburg City and Abbey Archives (Germany), co-funded by the EU.
1) What prompted the development of the Citizen Archive Platform (CAP)?
We have been pursuing a holistic approach to preservation for several years: We aim to preserve urban history in both analog and digital form, not only based on official documents, but also based on documents and collections from private individuals, associations, and businesses. The catalyst for our project was our experience with collecting during the 2020/21 coronavirus pandemic, which highlighted the difficulties with preserving data from private individuals. That’s why we explored innovative technical and archival strategies and tools.
2) Could you briefly describe the most important functions of CAP?
The tool enables the secure transfer of data from private individuals to an archive, based on archival standards. At the same time, the platform supports professional archivists with managing the digital submission workflow while preparing the transfer to a digital repository – or the de-accessioning of data.
3) How did the collaboration between the Graz City Archives and the Aschaffenburg City and Abbey Archives come about?
Joachim Kemper (Dr. Joachim Kemper, the head of the Aschaffenburg City and Abbey Archives) and I have known each other for several years and we share similar approaches to our work. At the Graz City Archives, which is run jointly with the Graz Museum in a single organizational unit and headed by Director Sibylle Dienesch, we pursue a similarly open and participatory approach to archiving. So, joining forces with Aschaffenburg seemed almost logical for our project.
4) Can anyone download and use the platform?
Yes, the platform will be made available on GitHub at the end of the project is available under an open license. It can be downloaded, used, and further developed by any archive or other cultural heritage institution. Of course, we would also be very happy to receive feedback or reports on experiences from other users.
5) Do you plan to expand CAP further and do you also plan to release versions in other languages?
Other language versions in English, French, Italian, and Greek are already being developed for the EU project. Technically, this is quite easy to implement, and other institutions can, of course, customize the language and content individually for themselves.
6) Do you offer training, and is there already an online user community that people can turn to with questions?
During the project period, i.e. until the end of January 2026, this option will of course still be available. We are currently working out to what extent we will be able to provide support for new users after the end of the project. In any case, we will continue to support users in Graz over the next few years and will operate the platform together with the museum collection.
7) Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?
After almost four years, we are thrilled to see the enthusiasm of the people of Graz for this topic. As an archive, we can fully leverage our expertise in the long-term preservation of cultural heritage, now in digital form. At the same time, we have also acquired more skills, technical know-how, and an even broader network for taking on personal documents in both spheres—digital and analog.
You can access the CAP at: https://citizenarchive.eu/en/
Thank you very much for this interview!
Translated with the help of AI, revised and adjusted by Katharina Hering


