{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T01:21:14Z","timestamp":1760059274095,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":52,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,3]],"date-time":"2025-06-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1748908800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"National Research Foundation (SA)","award":["SRUG2205025721"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["SRUG2205025721"]}]},{"name":"University of South Africa (Unisa)","award":["SRUG2205025721"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["SRUG2205025721"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Information"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Archives have the potential to contribute to national development by preserving historical records and providing access to information. However, their impact is constrained by ineffective outreach strategies, insufficient institutional investment, and low public visibility. Public programming has been used as a strategic approach to bridge the gap between archival institutions and their user communities through engagement initiatives. Therefore, the objective of this study was to systematically review and analyse the diverse public programming activities undertaken by archival institutions globally and to identify the resultant outcomes of these engagements. To achieve this, the study employed a systematic literature review methodology, examining scholarly publications to synthesise existing evidence on public engagement in archives, thereby providing a comprehensive overview of current practices and their demonstrated impacts. The systematic review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines, utilising a two-stage selection process involving a search of six databases and four specialised journals. This search yielded 39 publications that met the inclusion criteria. Methodological rigour was evaluated using the CASP checklist. The results from the study indicated that exhibitions, educational programmes, community outreach, and digital initiatives were the most common public programming strategies. These activities enhance public awareness, increase accessibility, and foster community engagement. Despite the availability of various public programming activities, challenges such as inadequate funding, lack of digital infrastructure, and bureaucratic constraints hinder their effectiveness. The need for structured outreach strategies, institutional support, and the integration of emerging technologies to optimise public programming in archives is emphasised. The findings contribute to improving archival accessibility and user engagement in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/info16060471","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,3]],"date-time":"2025-06-03T03:57:18Z","timestamp":1748923038000},"page":"471","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Public Engagement Through Programming in Archives: A Systematic Review of Activities and Resultant Outcomes"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0964-3582","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Josiline","family":"Chigwada","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Interdisciplinary Research and Postgraduate Studies, University of South Africa, Pretoria 0003, South Africa"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4835-6594","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mthokozisi Masumbika","family":"Ncube","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Interdisciplinary Research and Postgraduate Studies, University of South Africa, Pretoria 0003, South Africa"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7676-3931","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Patrick","family":"Ngulube","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Interdisciplinary Research and Postgraduate Studies, University of South Africa, Pretoria 0003, South Africa"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"42","article-title":"The Role of Public Archives in National Development in Selected Countries in the East and Southern Africa Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives Region","volume":"48","author":"Lopang","year":"2014","journal-title":"Innovation"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Choi, B., and Kim, J. (2021). Changes and Challenges in Museum Management after the COVID-19 Pandemic. J. Open Innov. Technol. Mark. Complex., 7.","DOI":"10.3390\/joitmc7020148"},{"key":"ref_3","first-page":"219","article-title":"Marketing and Public Programming at the National Archives of Zambia","volume":"30","author":"Njobvu","year":"2012","journal-title":"Mousaion"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"176","DOI":"10.1177\/15501906211052716","article-title":"Political and Socio-Economic Dynamics on the Access to Oral Sources at National Archives in Zimbabwe and South Africa","volume":"18","author":"Bhebhe","year":"2022","journal-title":"Collections"},{"key":"ref_5","first-page":"74","article-title":"Towards a Uniform Strategy for Taking Archives to the People in South Africa","volume":"36","author":"Ngulube","year":"2017","journal-title":"ESARBICA J."},{"key":"ref_6","first-page":"74","article-title":"Marketing and public programming in records and archives at the Tanzania Records and Archives Management Department","volume":"44","author":"Kamatula","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. S. Afr. Soc. Arch."},{"key":"ref_7","first-page":"45","article-title":"History education outreach programs for adults: A missed opportunity for archivists?","volume":"34","author":"Miller","year":"2012","journal-title":"Arch. Issues"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ngulube, P. (2019). Use of Public Programming Strategies in Promoting Access to Documentary Heritage at Zimbabwe National Archives. Handbook of Research on Advocacy, Promotion, and Public Programming for Memory Institutions, IGI Global Scientific Publishing.","DOI":"10.4018\/978-1-5225-7429-3"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"309","DOI":"10.1080\/01576895.2018.1550426","article-title":"Educational Programs as an Interactive Tool for Public Engagement by Public Archives Repositories in South Africa","volume":"46","author":"Mukwevho","year":"2018","journal-title":"Arch. Manusc."},{"key":"ref_10","first-page":"83","article-title":"Measuring access to public archives and developing an access index: Experiences of the National Archives of Zimbabwe","volume":"30","author":"Murambiwa","year":"2011","journal-title":"ESARBICA J."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"18","DOI":"10.1108\/CC-07-2023-0023","article-title":"Decentralisation as a marketing strategy for archival services in Zimbabwe","volume":"44","author":"Sigauke","year":"2025","journal-title":"Collect. Curation"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"178","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jclinepi.2021.03.001","article-title":"The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews","volume":"134","author":"Page","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Clin. Epidemiol."},{"key":"ref_13","first-page":"200091","article-title":"Search Strategy Formulation for Systematic Reviews: Issues, Challenges and Opportunities","volume":"15","author":"MacFarlane","year":"2022","journal-title":"Intell. Syst. Appl."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Methley, A.M., Campbell, S., Chew-Graham, C., McNally, R., and Cheraghi-Sohi, S. (2014). PICO, PICOS and SPIDER: A Comparison Study of Specificity and Sensitivity in Three Search Tools for Qualitative Systematic Reviews. BMC Health Serv. Res., 14.","DOI":"10.1186\/s12913-014-0579-0"},{"key":"ref_15","unstructured":"Rayyan (2024, November 27). Faster Systematic Reviews. Available online: https:\/\/www.rayyan.ai\/."},{"key":"ref_16","unstructured":"ASReview (2024, November 29). Join the Movement Towards Fast, Open, and Transparent Systematic Reviews. Available online: https:\/\/asreview.nl\/local-installation\/."},{"key":"ref_17","unstructured":"Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) (2024, November 29). CASP Checklists. Available online: https:\/\/casp-uk.net\/casp-tools-checklists\/."},{"key":"ref_18","first-page":"6","article-title":"Measures of Interrater Agreement","volume":"6","author":"Mandrekar","year":"2011","journal-title":"Biostat. Clin."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Li, M., Gao, Q., and Yu, T. (2023). Kappa Statistic Considerations in Evaluating Inter-Rater Reliability between Two Raters: Which, When and Context Matters. BMC Cancer, 23.","DOI":"10.1186\/s12885-023-11325-z"},{"key":"ref_20","first-page":"5","article-title":"Zotero and Mendeley: Reference Management Software for Citation","volume":"1","author":"Kale","year":"2023","journal-title":"Surabhi"},{"key":"ref_21","unstructured":"Barclay, S. (2023). Archives and Outreach Methods: How Far Have We Really Come; A Comparative Case Study. [Master\u2019s Thesis, University of Namibia]."},{"key":"ref_22","unstructured":"Bowden, E. (2013). Archives Outreach in a Digital World: Promoting Digital Content Through Online Outreach Efforts. [Master\u2019s Thesis, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]."},{"key":"ref_23","first-page":"1","article-title":"Persuasion, promotion, perception: Untangling archivists\u2019 understanding of advocacy and outreach","volume":"31","author":"Brett","year":"2013","journal-title":"Provenance"},{"key":"ref_24","unstructured":"Cachola, E.-R. (2024, October 27). Public Awareness and Outreach: Framing Archival Events to Bring Different Communities Together. Advocating for Ourselves. Available online: https:\/\/chfellows.pubpub.org\/pub\/2bglad8q\/release\/1."},{"key":"ref_25","first-page":"56","article-title":"Community awareness for archives in Tanzania: A case study of Zanzibar National Archives","volume":"50","author":"Chami","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. S. Afr. Soc. Arch."},{"key":"ref_26","unstructured":"DeCeulaerde, G. (2024, October 27). Community Engagement Through Cultural Archiving. iPRES 2024 Papers\u2014International Conference on Digital Preservation. Available online: https:\/\/ipres2024.pubpub.org\/pub\/gdxzwi3z\/release\/1."},{"key":"ref_27","first-page":"77","article-title":"Reaching out, reaching in: A preliminary investigation into archives\u2019 use of social media in Canada","volume":"75","author":"Duff","year":"2013","journal-title":"Archivaria"},{"key":"ref_28","first-page":"7","article-title":"Engaging Communities: Public Programming in State Universities\u2019 Special Collections and Archives","volume":"36","author":"Fleming","year":"2014","journal-title":"Arch. Issues"},{"key":"ref_29","first-page":"319","article-title":"Archives linked data and the digital humanities: Increasing access to digitised and born-digital archives via the semantic web","volume":"22","author":"Hawkins","year":"2022","journal-title":"Arch. Rec."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"28","DOI":"10.1108\/LHT-03-2013-0039","article-title":"Archival information services based on social networking services in a mobile environment: A case study of South Korea","volume":"32","author":"Kim","year":"2014","journal-title":"Libr. Hi-Tech"},{"key":"ref_31","first-page":"87","article-title":"From peripheral to essential: The evolution of outreach as a core archival function","volume":"Volume 43","author":"Crowe","year":"2022","journal-title":"Building Community Engagement and Outreach in Libraries"},{"key":"ref_32","unstructured":"Magadza, A.R. (2024, November 02). The Role of Outreach Services in Enhancing the Use of Archival Materials at the National Archives of Namibia. UNAM Digital Collections. Available online: https:\/\/digital.unam.edu.na\/xmlui\/handle\/11070.1\/18366."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"88","DOI":"10.1108\/CC-10-2022-0034","article-title":"Online presence of public archival institutions of South Africa","volume":"42","author":"Maluleka","year":"2023","journal-title":"Collect. Curation"},{"key":"ref_34","first-page":"34","article-title":"Marketing of archival reference services at Botswana National Archives and Records Services (BNARS)","volume":"1","author":"Maphorisa","year":"2013","journal-title":"Int. J. Acad. Res. Reflect."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"8","DOI":"10.1177\/0955749019876122","article-title":"Exhibitions in special collections, rare book libraries and archives: Questions to ask ourselves","volume":"29","author":"Marini","year":"2019","journal-title":"Alexandria"},{"key":"ref_36","first-page":"63","article-title":"Awareness and user satisfaction with archival services at the Archives Management Department (RAMD) in Tanzania","volume":"30","author":"Mollel","year":"2023","journal-title":"Tanzanian J. Popul. Stud. Dev."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"374","DOI":"10.1108\/LHT-11-2017-0228","article-title":"Taking archives to the people: The use of social media as a tool to promote public archives in South Africa","volume":"37","author":"Mukwevho","year":"2019","journal-title":"Libr. Hi Tech"},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"297","DOI":"10.1080\/23257962.2022.2031933","article-title":"A framework for enhancing the visibility and accessibility of public archives in South Africa","volume":"43","author":"Mukwevho","year":"2022","journal-title":"Arch. Rec."},{"key":"ref_39","first-page":"e00231","article-title":"Archives in action. The impact of digital technology on archaeological recording strategies and ensuing open research archives","volume":"27","author":"Opgenhaffen","year":"2022","journal-title":"Digit. Appl. Archaeol. Cult. Herit."},{"key":"ref_40","first-page":"21","article-title":"Awareness and use of the national archives: Evidence from the Volta and Eastern regional archives, Ghana","volume":"9","author":"Otu","year":"2015","journal-title":"Braz. J. Inf. Sci."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"248","DOI":"10.1080\/17567505.2024.2341361","article-title":"Centring Audiences: What Is the Value of Audience Mapping for Influencing Public Engagement with Cultural Heritage?","volume":"15","author":"Perry","year":"2024","journal-title":"Hist. Environ. Policy Amp; Pract."},{"key":"ref_42","first-page":"158","article-title":"Using Web analytics to improve online access to archival resources","volume":"74","author":"Prom","year":"2011","journal-title":"Am. Arch."},{"key":"ref_43","unstructured":"Rauch, C., Poole, A.H., Reid, T., Weigle, M.C., Nelson, M.L., Poursardar, F., and Kelly, M. (2024, October 28). Archiving Digital Marketing. iPRES 2024 Papers\u2014International Conference on Digital Preservation. Available online: https:\/\/ipres2024.pubpub.org\/pub\/x38rbwuu\/release\/1."},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ruest, N., Lin, J., Milligan, I., and Fritz, S. (2020, January 1\u20135). The Archives Unleashed Project: Technology, process, and community to improve scholarly access to web archives. Proceedings of the ACM\/IEEE Joint Conference on Digital Libraries in 2020, Virtual Event.","DOI":"10.1145\/3383583.3398513"},{"key":"ref_45","first-page":"25","article-title":"Taking archives to the people: An examination of public programs in the National Archives of the Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives","volume":"48","author":"Saurombe","year":"2020","journal-title":"ESARBICA J."},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"23","DOI":"10.25159\/0027-2639\/379","article-title":"Public programming skills of archivists in selected national memory institutions of East and Southern Africa","volume":"34","author":"Saurombe","year":"2016","journal-title":"Mousaion"},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"24","DOI":"10.1108\/CC-01-2023-0004","article-title":"Accessing collective memory: The role of oral history in building an inclusive archives reflecting a people\u2019s archives","volume":"43","year":"2024","journal-title":"Collect. Curation"},{"key":"ref_48","unstructured":"Sommer, T.D. (2012, January 23\u201326). Promoting public outreach and awareness for UNLV Special Collections. Proceedings of the Conference of Inter-Mountain Archivists (CIMA) & Society of Southwest Archivists (SSA) Conference, Mesa, AZ, USA. Available online: https:\/\/digitalscholarship.unlv.edu\/libfacpresentation\/96."},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"59","DOI":"10.1080\/13527250903441770","article-title":"New frameworks for community engagement in the archive sector: From handing over to handing 1 on","volume":"16","author":"Stevens","year":"2010","journal-title":"Int. J. Herit. Stud."},{"key":"ref_50","first-page":"489","article-title":"Demystifying digital archives: Undergraduates, active learning, and a path to outreach","volume":"61","author":"Webster","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Educ. Libr. Inf. Sci."},{"key":"ref_51","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2012.01.010","article-title":"Opening the archive: How free data has enabled the science and monitoring promise of Landsat","volume":"122","author":"Wulder","year":"2012","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_52","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"105","DOI":"10.1080\/13614576.2019.1608575","article-title":"\u201cWorthiness\u201d of Marketing Public Archives","volume":"24","author":"Bhebhe","year":"2019","journal-title":"New Rev. Inf. Netw."}],"container-title":["Information"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2078-2489\/16\/6\/471\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,9]],"date-time":"2025-10-09T17:46:21Z","timestamp":1760031981000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2078-2489\/16\/6\/471"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,3]]},"references-count":52,"journal-issue":{"issue":"6","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,6]]}},"alternative-id":["info16060471"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/info16060471","relation":{},"ISSN":["2078-2489"],"issn-type":[{"type":"electronic","value":"2078-2489"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,3]]}}}