Dr. Péter Balázs: Guide to the archives of Hungary (Budapest, 1976)

(Introduction)

branch was abolished temporarily, the Board organized two years' courses for young archivists, having the qualification of a teacher, at occasions, the lecture notes of which were written by archivists most experienced in the subject. In 1961 the University of Budapest has started the instruction of archivists again, nay it has founded a supplementary branch as a three years correspondence course for those who entered archival service without the archivist's university degree. From the autumn of 1976 the archival subjects will be taught from the first year to the fifth. The archival manipulating personnel was recruited originally from the employees having worked in administrative jobs and expert in record management. Nowadays supply comes rather from the lines of young people, having public school qualification. The instruction of the manipulating personnel was one of the primary cares of the Board since the beginning, several series of lecture notes have been worked out for this purpose. An archival manual is in the course of preparation. From the school year 1975/76 the two upper forms of the public schools may teach the knowledge of manipulators of public collections as a facultative subject. Those who pass an examination from this subject may be employed in archives, museums and libraries after matriculation. (At present only 3 public schools of the country have introduced instruction of this kind.) For the professional development of scientific personnel already in archival service the Archival Board organizes 5 to 6 tirras yearly lectures combined with consultation. For the staff of the special archives the Archival Board organizes occasional professional consultations of several days. # Summing up we may state, that the rules regulating the Hungarian archives have created conditions under which the professional tasks of our archives can be fulfilled according to the social transformation and cultural aims of our country, in harmony with the plans of other cultural institutions. In the 1950s central direction made it possible to organize large-scale actions for the salvage of records, to execute the archival treatment of the material in good pace and according to uniform principles, to publish the most important finding aids, etc. The activity of the archives in publication and general education has developped in manifold ways and the live research activity reveals the social demand for the archival material.