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)
3. Session/Séance: van Boven, Scope and Aims of Mobility. A Dutch view deed the recession has led to a reduction in the number of posts. Promotion is a slow process. Accordingly, as there are few jobs in archives in the traditional sense, most would-be archivists seek employment in administering current or semi-current government records. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. A number of resourceful archivists have set up small businesses which offer services to the public and private sectors in the way of managing archives and current and semi-current records. Many graduates of the National School for Archivists earn their living in this way. It is clear, however, that the limits of training have almost been reached and that new opportunities must be found, in Europe for example. 3. A feature which is both a strength and a weakness is the fact that Dutch archivists are not entirely comparable with their fellow professionals in neighbouring countries. In the Netherlands, archivists are closely involved in the management of current and semi-current records and in all manner of administrative work in the public service, whereas in countries such as France, Belgium and Germany the emphasis is placed on cultural and historical work. That is why the great majority of archivists in the Netherlands are not academics with doctorates - although these are adequately represented in management posts - but belong to the well-qualified middle ranks of the profession. The average records departmentemploys three such staff to every university graduate. Expectations regarding mobility Dutch archivists are eager to learn and to discover more about the work of their counterparts in other countries. This is illustrated by the prominent part played by Dutch archivists in international fora such as the ICA and the SPA. It must be said, however, that these delegates form but a small part of the profession in the Netherlands. Fortunately, there are other ways of keeping in contact with other countries, most of which operate on a bilateral basis and involve largegroups of archivists. Let me give you some examples. Every year, the archivists of the Dutch province of North Brabant and their Belgian colleagues organise the Brabant Archivists’ Day, which provides an opportunity both for socialising and for exchanging views. The annual two-day symposium organised by the archivists of the Flemish and German-speaking parts of Belgium, North Rhine-Westphalia and the Dutch provinces of Limburg and North Brabant is a somewhat more serious occasion. This highly successful event was the idea of the Belgian Keeper of National Records, who wanted to give greater substance to international contacts. The symposia, held in each of the three countries in turn, discuss a particular topic, the most recent being selection and destruction. The great advantage of these meetings is that the limited size and the homogeneity of the group who attend - some forty or fifty members of staff of the various state record offices - afford an opportunity for more in-depth discussion of the profession. The results are excellent, showing that such an occasion can teach us 297
