ABSTRACT
Communities of practice is a framework that has been applied to a number of heritage practices, including authorized museums' cultivation of volunteer learning and museums' role in reconciliation. This chapter argues that the strength of DIY institutions is in the work of pro-ams who are committed to affective archiving and the development of communities of practice which support and enable their fulfillment of the mission to preserve popular music's past. It considers the extent to which a collective form of collecting, in which numerous volunteers contribute to the collecting efforts of an institution, shapes the affective dimension of these places. The chapter argues that collecting collectively helps foster a strong sense of community among DIYers and emotional connections between volunteers and objects in their care. It also considers how collective collecting is a central feature of the DIY practice of "archiving affectively".
