Memory institutions
The BVI Model uses the phrase as a convenience to refer collectively to archives, museums and libraries but does not assume primacy in their role as ‘memory institutions’. As Robinson states, ‘a wider variety of organisations, such as schools, universities, media corporations, government or religious bodies could also legitimately be ascribed this title’ (Robinson, 2012). The BVI Model’s conception of memory institutions references and includes this wider definition. For instance, these organisations could be included: the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation); US Public Broadcasting, as epitomised by companies like WGBH in Boston; a university press; or the Wayback Machine and the Internet Archive.
Robinson, H. (2012) Remembering Things Differently: museums, libraries and archives as memory institutions and the implications for convergence, Museum Management and Curatorship, 27 (4), 413–29, doi:10.1080/09647775.2012.720188.