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 - Huyda, Richard: Coordination Research in Archival Sience and Dissemination of Professional Information / Coordination de la recherche en archivistique et diffusion de l’information professionnelle (english 231 - français 251)

3. Session/Séance: Marcoux - Huyda, Coordinating Research in archivai Science

ference of Archives30 reinforces our initial observation. The public archivai institutions in countries with strongly centralized political and administrative traditions ensure the coordination of research and the dissemination of professional information in archival science through directives, policies, guiding principles or procedures that apply uniformly to all administrative levels. The literature also suggests that archivists’ professional associations in these countries are generally very centralized. The professional and scholarly publications of these associations, few in number in each country in question, are the products of decisions by a small number of individuals, members of an editorial committee. In short, in these countries, at least when we come to the branch of archival science dealing with the administration of public archives, coordination of research and the distribution of professional information is an inherent factor in the systems and communication channels of the institutions in place. Institutions in countries where power and the administration of public business are more dispersed, onthe other hand, have generally attempted or are attempting to create coordinating and joint action organizations31. These bodies are more or less centralized or centralizing, they involve more or fewer intervenors and are run in a more or less consultative manner, reflecting the cultures and political traditions in force.

At the international level, the coordination of research and the dissemination of professional information in archival science is the virtually exclusive prerogative of the ICA and its ad-hoc boards, committees and task forces. One of the objectives of this body, moreover, is to „contribute to progress in all aspects of archival technique and administration, facilitating exchanges of views and information on problems related to archives“32.

We need not refer here of all the ICA’s projects and special activities in research coordination and the dissemination of professional information. A number of writers have already done this in a much more complete and informed maimer.33 We’ll, therefore, focus on the work done under its auspices, in which our Canadian Centre for Information and Documentation on Archives was a conspicuous participant, in the area of launching an information network for the literature in archival science.

The communications Network for the professional literature34

At the International Council of Archives Congress of 1988, some participants suggested setting up a data base for the professional literature in archival science.

30 Conseil International des Archives (éd.): Deuxième Conférence Européenne des Archives. Actes, Ann Arbor, 9-13 mai, 1989.

31 See, for example: Dunhill, Rosemary C.: The National Council on Archives: its role in professional thinking and development, in: Journal of the Society of Archivists 11 (1990) p. 32-36.

32 Conseil International des Archives, Statuts et règles de procédure. Paris 1989, p. 1.

Notably: Kulkarnee, N. H.: The ICA and the development of archives, in: Archivum 29 (1982), p. 174-177; Ede, Jeffery R.: The ICA: thirty years in retrospect, in: Journal of the Society of Archivists 6 (1981), p. 391-398; Evans, Frank B.: Archives and research: a study in international cooperation between Unesco and ICA, in: Archives et Bibliothèques de Belgique 57 (1986), p. 127-158.

34 The following is from an unpublished report, written by Marta Khan, and entitled International Cooperation in Archival Bibliographic Exchanges, [Ottawa], 23 September 1992.

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