Sonderband 2. International Council on Archives. Dritte Europäische Archivkonferenz, Wien 11. bis 15. Mai 1993. Tagungsprotokolle (1996)

4. Session / Séance. Strategies for Links with Historical Research / Stratégies de Communication envers la Recherche historique - Palayret Jean-Marie: Towards a New History of Europe (integration period) / Pour une nouvelle Histoire européenne. La période de l’intégration) (english 393 - français 413)

4. Session/Séance: Palayret, Towards a new History of Europe

ber State and holding. It is recommended that this opening time be spread over six days per week. It ought to be possible to consult users on the hours that would best suit them in accordance with local conditions.

c) While it seems illusory to harmonize release times and limitations on the number of files supplied to users, it is certainly possible to improve them, while still taking account of the national or local nature of the archival service involved. One general principle accepted by almost all the archival depositories would be that there be no overall limit on the number of articles requested for consultation by the reader in a day, if this seems compatible with the possibilities of the service. In order to help the service, restrain exaggerated demands by readers and prevent them from sowing disorder in the folders, most Member States have set a restriction on the number of items supplied per request for consultation. This figure, which the group plans putting forward as a minimal standard, is most often three.

One other way of reducing supply times consists in announcing requests in correspondence beforehand: in France, reservation of documents in the National Archives (Paris) is normally done remotely on a data line (minitel service).

2. Reprographic Services

Among the most widespread means of disseminating archives are the reprographic services, which national archival services ought to ensure on at least the following terms:

a) as wide as possible a range of reprographic procedures ought to be available within the archival services: photocopying (daily service if possible), printing (in self-service form) of existing microforms, microfilming and photography;

b) the needs of conservation are recognizes as taking priority over those of reproduction;

c) promoting the spread of the system of exchanging reproductions or microfilms of archives relating to the history of other countries than the conservation site.

3. Assistance to Users

a) Guides and Research Tools (published or unpublished)

Historians note that access to archives is largely conditioned by the production and distribution of guides to holdings, inventories, indexes and interrogation systems.- All these research tools are in general not yet standardized at European level. In Western Europe, it is often through the intermediary of professional associations and/or shared archival training that harmonization of filling methods and of design of research tools comes about. The international archival description standards at present being worked out could be adopted and recognized by Member States.

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