Archival Communication in the Age of Social Media: the Italian Case and the Main Strategies in the International Context

The widespread use of social media in people’s everyday life has set the basis for big changes in the relationships between individuals, public and private bodies on a global scale. With public administrations willing to adjust their identities to new tools for communication, archival organizations approached to social networks to connect with new users and enhance their heritage. This paper aims to define methods, specificities and limits of the Italian archival institutions’ social media policies, opening up to a first comparison with other national strategies, especially with the French one. A special focus has been put on the role of social networks in March and April 2020, when Italian archives faced a two-month lockdown following the health emergency caused by the spread of COVID-19: moved away from the ordinary work, archivists and archival institutes were encouraged to start alternative forms of communication with their users, including a more effective social campaign.