At Polmanarkivet, our mission is to bring the Polman, Påhlman, and von Pohlmann past to life through stewardship, research, and storytelling. Our research helps illuminate the lives and histories of these families—branches deeply rooted in centuries of Swedish history.
To date, we’ve documented more than 350 people, catalogued hundreds of objects in our collection, indexed over 300 archival and published sources, and recorded thousands of facts spanning names, dates, locations, relationships, and historical events. Together, they form the foundation of an evolving knowledge system.
But collecting and organising research material isn’t enough. A powerful research system needs to deepen understanding by connecting information meaningfully across time and place. How do we connect Axel Kurck's 1608 recommendation of Jürgen Polman to the plea Jürgen later sent Axel Oxenstierna about his fief in Finland? Or trace the thread from Jöran Polman’s role in the 1621 Siege of Riga to the famous portrait that immortalised him just two years later, now housed at Skokloster Castle?
This kind of meaning-making is crucial and requires more than structured organisation. It demands a dynamic and relational research system capable of revealing patterns, context, and connections across centuries.
Get an inside look at how the Polmanarkivet Research System works. We'll explore the three research tools we use, including Zotero, Airtable, and Heptabase, and show how they work together in our day-to-day workflow. Along the way, we’ll share practical insights and real-world examples from our own research.
Whether your research spans one family or many, a single decade or several centuries, a thoughtful system can help you stay on top of your research, whatever its scale.
graph LR
%% Simplified Core Tool Interaction
A["Zotero
(Source Library & Annotation)
Manages all research sources, PDFs, and citations. Foundation for all facts."] --> B;
B{"Airtable
(Structured Data Nexus)
Organises extracted facts and relationships between People, Places, Items, Events. Links to Zotero sources."};
B --> C;
C["Heptabase
(Synthesis & Sense-Making)
Visual exploration of complex topics, connecting ideas from Zotero & Airtable. Develops interpretations and narratives."];
%% Arrows showing interconnectedness
B -- "Provides structured facts for" --> C;
C -- "Generates insights that refine data in" --> B;
C -- "Identifies need for new sources in" --> A;
%% Styling (optional, but can make it clearer)
style A fill:#D6EAF8,stroke:#2874A6,stroke-width:2px
style B fill:#D1F2EB,stroke:#117A65,stroke-width:2px
style C fill:#FCF3CF,stroke:#B7950B,stroke-width:2px
