Dr. Fiorella Foscarini 

Highlights

Leading archivist, archival educator and scholar in Canada and Europe; known for innovative scholarship focused on recordkeeping and information culture; former Archivaria general editor.  

Education and Background  

Born in Italy, Fiorella Foscarini received her Laurea (the Italian equivalent of a BA) in Literature and Philosophy from the Università degli Studi di Bologna, her MA in archival studies, paleography and diplomatics from the School of the State Archives of Bologna, a second MA from the University of Urbino, and her PhD from the University of British Columbia (2009).  

Professional Career  

Fiorella Foscarini began her career in Europe, serving first as Head of Records Management Office and Intermediate Archives at the Province of Bologna, Italy (1995-2000), and later as Senior Archivist for the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany (2000-2009).   

Foscarini joined the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information in 2010 after finishing her PhD, quickly becoming known as a valued and nurturing mentor to students in the Master of Information (MI) program. She has made significant contributions to information studies curriculum at U of T, especially in bringing her research on genre theory and organizational culture to the area of records management. In 2014-2016, Foscarini took a hiatus from U of T to teach in the Department of Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam, in The Netherlands. Once back in the Toronto’s Faculty of Information, Foscarini served as MI Director from 2019-2022, shepherding the program and its students through their studies during the global pandemic. In 2024, she was promoted to full Professor. 

Foscarini’s research is grounded in years of experience as a practicing archivist. Her research exploring archival studies and the connections between different archival traditions seeks to make international archival scholarship more accessible across borders. In her teaching and research, Foscarini uses diplomatics, rhetorical genre studies, and information culture concepts to explore issues related to the creation, management, and use of records in organizational contexts. Because her research beautifully integrates theory with practice, it has had a broad impact on both the scholarly and professional archives and records management communities.  

Contributions to the Profession  

Fiorella Foscarini began serving on the Archivaria editorial board in 2006, continuing there for 9 years as member, Senior Associate Editor, and General Editor. As General Editor (2019-2022), Foscarini led the journal during the difficult years of the pandemic, and secured a SSHRC Aid to Scholarly Journals grant, funding that was critical in order to improve discoverability and move Archivaria towards an open access publication model. Foscarini also served as Editor-in-Chief of the Records Management Journal (2015-2019) and currently is Editor-in-Chief of Archival Science (2023-present). 

Foscarini is a well-published archival scholar, widely cited in the field and listed in required and recommended readings for graduate level studies. Her research spans a wide range of publications and conference presentations in Canada and internationally.   

 Honours, Awards and Recognition  

• Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence: Outstanding Paper Award,2013 for “Understanding Functions: An Organizational Culture Perspective,” Records Management Journal 22:1 (2012): 20-36.  
• Archivaria Hugh Taylor prize, 2015  
• Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence: Highly Commended Paper Award, 2019 for “Ethnographic Sensitivity and Current Recordkeeping: Applying Information Culture Analysis in the Workplace,” Records Management Journal 28:2 (2018): 175-186.  
• Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence: Outstanding Paper Award, 2024 for “Working from Home: The Experience of Records Management Professionals During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” Records Management Journal 33, 1 (2023): 64-87. 
• ACA Fellow, 2024  

 Photo source:  https://ischool.utoronto.ca/faculty-profile/fiorella-foscarini/  

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