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

(Introduction)

problems and promoting their solution. Among the source publications of the regional archives the local history readers serve primarily general education and the use in the schools, but they are edited on a scientific level. These volumes are not only novel archival publications, but they also differ from the former series of Hungarian source publications insofar as they select documents illustrating the past of a county or a region. As far the half of the regional archives have published sources in this manner. In order to make the archival material on economic history widely known, the archives classify the data in their records according to definite points of view and treat them accordingly in publications on historical statistics (so the series edited in common with the Central Statistical Office, Publications on Historical Statistics, later Bulletin of Historical Statistics, further Volumes on Historical Statistics). The most significant enterprise is the publishing and treatment of the socage (urbarial) regulation under Maria Theresa according to the points of view of modern statistics, dealing with village after village. Of the studies on archival history one has been published in a separate volume (Somogy county), the rest was edited in the professional journals. The archives regard it as their task to deal with the history of all organs the records of which are in their professional custody. In this framework administrative history, Le. the work on the history of governmental, administrative and judicial organs in a wider sense, not restricted to the mere history of the office, is especially important. Publications of this kind have been edited partly by the National Archives, partly by the Archival Board. In a related branch, the history of enterprises, the archives reached significant results as well. Decree-law No. 27 of 1969 sanctioned the hitherto practised custom, that the regional archives promoted the writing of local history as a part of their work. (Utilizing its rich material from such a point of view, the Hungarian National Archives is a collaborator in this enterprise.) The publication and the scientific success of lexika, annals, studies and archival leaflets on local history prove that the activity of the archives in this field responded to an actual social demand. The study of principial and practical questions of archival work is manifested in some self-standing volumes, in the papers of our both professional journals, the Levéltári Szemle (Archival Review), presenting many problems of principles and practice, starting a discussion in many cases, and the Levéltári Közlemények (Archival Bulletin), dealing with the single problems comprehensively and sometimes closing the discussion, and also in the various series' of professional instruction.