CIRN Prato Community Informatics Conference 2014: Refereed Stream 1 Collecting Alternative Memories: The Centre for Documenting Independent Culture Antonija Letinić², Dunja Kučinac² and Tamara Štefanac¹ ²Centre for documenting independent culture ¹ University of Zadar Abstract: Using the example of the Centre for Documenting Independent Culture this paper seeks to explore community practice regarding value assessment, acquisition and different users’ needs in the field of independent culture, which is an aspect of cultural her itage stewardship that is not addressed by the official archive service in Croatia. The Centre is operated as one of the long-term projects of two Croatian NGOs: Kurziv-Platform for Matters of Culture, Media and Society and Association for promotion of cultures Kulturtreger. Since institutional boundaries are blurred and the Centre could be considered simultaneously an archival, museum and library project, its practices could indicate points of convergence of these types of institutions. The paper discusses possible methods for studying this community archive and understanding the influence of archival and museum theory and practice on their work. Keywords: community archive, museum, independent culture Introduction Contemporary contemplation of archival theory and practice, mostly within the Anglo-American discourse, has moved beyond traditional terminology to a variety of non- institutional archival moments and processes. The Centre for Documenting Independent Culture successfully documents and archives different actors of the independent cultural scene on the national level and generates documentary collections of records of various types and in various media. In these actions the Centre endorses its own identity as an activism- oriented, hybrid institution. At the nexus between archival intentions and museum acquisition and descriptive practices, in terms of its physical and virtual existence, the Centre belongs to the field of independent archives that are closely connected to the community of the independent cultural scene. It documents independent cultural activity in Croatia and in that way archives counter and parallel memories entering and operating within the collective memory of cultural sector production. Given that in the last few decades canonical definitions of archives and museums are being questioned, the Centre does not feel the need to be imbedded within a specific institutional frame, but rather emphasizes the following pervasive elements: a focus beyond the Self while forming identity in relations to the Other; conscious and explicit intention to collect, preserve and provide access to collected material; dynamic relations between material stored in physical and virtual space, and community involvement. Inherent to this archival practice that is oriented towards marginal actors who are opposed to the dominant societal trends is a questioning of the notion of the archive. Because the Centre’s work is exposed to continuous change, and it is situated outside strict institutional boundaries, this freedom is reinforced and encouraged. Along with the traditional problems of documentary strategies and archiving, it is faced with questions about how to approach practices that refuse to be recorded, how to present practices that slip outside firm formats and how to include the community as an active participant in the creation of alternative memories. Members of the Centre belong to the field of independent culture and its practice of documentation seeks to include a broad spectrum of different material and records produced by other actors from independent culture. The Centre collects material and data from fields of contemporary art including visual arts, performing arts, film, literature and music production, urban culture and new media and technologies, as well as interdisciplinary cultural projects.