Sonderband 2. International Council on Archives. Dritte Europäische Archivkonferenz, Wien 11. bis 15. Mai 1993. Tagungsprotokolle (1996)
3. Session / Séance. Sharing of Experience and Exchange of Staff / Partage d’Expériences et Echange des Personnes - Boven, Maarten van: Scope and Aims of Mobility. A Dutch View / Cadres et Objectifs de la Mobilité. Un Point de vue néerlandais (english 293 - français 302)
kept in this country indispensable forthe study of the history of Asia, Africa, America and Oceania. The capital of each province contains a provincial record office to house the archives of past and present provincial administrations and of the central government agencies in that particular province. They include the archives of dukes, counts, bishops, monasteries and castellans, stadholders, prefects, governors and queen’s commissioners, of courts, lawyers, public servants and of many private institutions, companies and individuals. They also contain the registers of baptisms, marriages and burials from the XVIIth and XVIIItH centuries, the records of the registrars’ offices and the genealogical records of the XIXth century. The Public Records Department is responsible for approximately 160 kilometres of archives. It has a permanent staff of over two hundred and fifty, supplemented by over a hundred temporary employees. The extent and standard of local government records are much admired by foreign experts. This state of affairs is due to the large number of towns in the Netherlands in the Middle Ages and the high degree of autonomy they enjoyed at that time and later. Although there is no obligation to appoint a keeper of municipal records, over 60 of the 650 municipalities in the Netherlands have their own archivists, while nearly 240 municipalities operate a joint regional record service of some kind. A number of other local authorities have plans for appointing archivists or have entrusted the management of records which are accessible to the public to a specially designated official of the municipal secretariat. The State may also deposit national records relating to a particular municipality with the local authority concerned if it has its own archivist and a satisfactory repository. This mainly concerns judicial and legal records, along with the XVIIth and XVIIIth century registers of baptisms, marriages and burials. The use of public records in the Netherlands has greatly increased in recent years and is still rising. Over 25 000 people visit the National Record Office every year, while each provincial record office has an annual average of 12 000 visitors. This amounts to a total of over a 150 000 visits per year. Although exact statistics are not available for municipal record offices, the total number of visits undoubtedly exceeds the figure I have just quoted. The main reason for what are very high totals in comparison with other countries, particularly in proportion to the population of the Netherlands, is the fact that the national and provincial record offices are the repository for the main sources for genealogical research. One consequence of these figures is that the government has accorded high priority to ensuring that records are housed in appropriate premises, with spacious, well- equipped reading-rooms. The increase in the number of visitors is seen by many archivists as a challenge, encouraged by a government which wishes to make culture more accessible to the public. Exhibitions and guided tours are organised; contacts are made with teachers to promote local and regional studies. For the benefit of visitors to record offices, 3. Session/Séance: van Boven, Scope and Aims of Mobility. A Dutch view 294
