The archivist persona is frequently described in terms of passive, introverted attributes, which are then viewed as contributing to critical concerns for the sector, such as a lack of visibility, perceived effectiveness, and funding. This study is the first to assess the archivist persona through a discourse analysis, examining the usage of words promoting value and positive benefits in archival studies publications. Titles and abstracts from research articles published in five prominent journals between 2015 and 2019 were analysed for a set of 57 words connoting value or valuable benefits, including terms such as “innovative”, “positive”, and “strategic.” An identical analysis of research articles published in five knowledge management (KM) publications over the same timeframe was also completed in order to provide a comparative dataset from an adjacent, yet more corporate-embedded information practice. The results demonstrate that archival studies researchers use value words to promote the benefits of their research, but do so at a significantly lower frequency and density when compared to KM. A qualitative analysis of the results shows that archivists leverage a passive lexicon to promote value and benefits, relying on generic adjectives and indirect claims, whereas the lexicon of KM communicates direct, actionable outcomes that more readily align with business stakeholders’ priorities. These findings suggest practical communications recommendations for the archives sector, which could enhance business stakeholders’ perceptions of archivists and the value of archival work.

档案管理员角色经常被描述为被动、内向的属性，然后被视为导致该部门的关键问题，例如缺乏知名度、感知效率和资金。本研究首次通过话语分析来评估档案管理员的角色，检查档案研究出版物中促进价值和积极利益的词语的使用。对 2015 年至 2019 年间发表在五家著名期刊上的研究文章的标题和摘要进行了分析，其中包含 57 个暗示价值或有价值的好处的词，包括“创新”、“积极”和“战略”等术语。还完成了对同一时间段内发表在五篇知识管理 (KM) 出版物中的研究文章的相同分析，以提供来自相邻但更嵌入企业的信息实践的比较数据集。结果表明，档案研究研究人员使用价值词来宣传他们研究的好处，但与知识管理相比，这样做的频率和密度要低得多。结果的定性分析表明，档案工作者利用被动词汇来提升价值和利益，依靠通用形容词和间接声明，而知识管理词汇传达直接、可操作的结果，更容易与业务利益相关者的优先事项保持一致。这些调查结果为档案部门提出了实用的沟通建议，