Mitteilungen des Österreichischen Staatsarchivs 39. (1986)
Archive Buildings and the Conservation of Archival Material. An Expert Meeting, held in Vienna, Austria October 30 - November 1, 1985 - USÓN, Cristina: Adaptation of Ancient Buildings as Archives Repositories in Spain
222 Archive Buildings administrative archives (whose location depends on the institution they serve), we find that 23 archives are located in new buildings constructed especially for them, while 29 are housed in old buildings which have been adapted. Let us examine these facts. Between 1950 and 1970 special attention was given to the 11 major archives: the national, regional and district archives, whose existence dates back to the beginning of this century. While four of these continued in their traditional location (Archivo de la Corona de Aragón, Archivo General de Simancas, Archivo General de Indias and Archivo General de Palacio), five received newly-constructed buildings, three of them buildings that were independent of any other cultural institution (Archivo Historico Nációnál, Archivo del Reino de Valencia and Archivo General de la Administración); on the other hand, a 16th century house was adapted to accomodate the Archivo de la Chancillería de Granada, and in another case, the availability of a piece of land next to the Archivo de la Chancillería de Valladolid made it possible to construct new strongrooms and remodel the area occupied up to that time. All this shows that the major archives were predominantly accomodated in new buildings. On the other hand, the 41 Provincial Historical Archives, gradually created from 1931 on, are currently housed in various ways: some are in temporary housing, some share buildings with other cultural institutions and others have their own buildings. This corresponds to the chronological stages previously described for the Archivo Historico Nációnál. 1.1 Currently, nine provincial capitals lack this type of archive (Madrid, Barcelona, Coruna, Granada, Pamplona, Palma de Mallorca, San Sebastián, Sevilla and Valencia). In general, the need is met unsatisfactorily by one of the major archives. The network is being completed for example, with the readaptation of the ancient courthouses in Sevilla. Another five archives are housed in buildings lent by or shared with another institution and await a final location. For example, the provincial archives of Salamanca and Valladolid are housed in their Universities, Cádiz’s archive is located in the provincial legislature, and in the case of Almeria, the archive has rented four separate offices due to the lack of a more appropriate location. 1.2 Between 1950 and 1970 Cultural Centers were created (generally in new buildings) to house archives along with libraries, lecture and exhibit halls, and occasionally museums and other cultural institutions. The area set aside for the archives was limited; currently the space is full, making the incorporation of new records impossible and making it necessary to move records to another area. The increase in library stock as well as growing legal requirements which oblige archives to receive new materials led to a growing consensus by 1970 that libraries and archives should be separated, with archives relocated in their own buildings.
