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 - Nebiker, Regula: Towards a New History of Europe (pre-integration period). The Archival Point of View / Pour une nouvelle Histoire européenne (avant l’intégration) (english 373 - français 382)

whole of Europe contain valuable information for European historiography, notably in the field of social history.

Let us also remember the profusion of private archives which are preserved in the most diverse establishments, even for example in libraries and museums. Business archives, as well as those of other bodies, of political parties, etc. are also not necessarily preservd in state archives.

European points of view are likewise documented, of course, by the archives of international bodies and conferences. Large organisations aware of their historical responsibilities, keep their own archives, others entrust the preservation of their archives to an outside body.

However, many deposits of great historical value are preserved in unsuitable places, in cellars or attics of offices or private houses where they are doomed to oblivion, hardley accessible and threatened with decay. To beware of the importance of placing such deposits in secure conditions is likewise the responsibility of archivists. It involves the establishment of an organised policy of preservation in the public interest in concordance with the ideas mentioned in the article on the French law on archives cited above.

Attempts to make historical sources accessible have been made for a long time. Let us here recall the extensive series of publications of sources, whose origins, for the most part go back to the last century. It is true they make available selected texts relating to specific fields of interest in certain fields of knowledge (for example, legal history, diplomatic history). They were also often launched to meet the needs of specific areas of historical study. Their relative usefulness is inevitably determined by the choice of documents. Furthermore, these sources came into existence within the context oftheir creation, which again reduces their informational value. Publication of sources was an important element in archival activity in the last century. Today, faced with constantly expanding tasks of a more urgent nature, this activity has slowed down somewhat.

We have already seen that in contrast to libraries, archives do not have at their disposal general, standardised finding aids. Looking at Europe as a whole, relatively few finding aids published by individual archives are to be found. In accordance with archival traditions, the situation appears different in each country. For example, in France there are very many calenders of archives. As to detailed lists, in practice, only large archives publish them. The fine detail in the terminology used in their titles is moreover valuable.

The Swiss Federal Archives have themselves also published a series of „Inventories“. In particular mention must be made of a systematic summary of holdings of archive groups, which, for the first time gives an overview at one and the same time, general and summary, of all the contents of the Federal Archives9.

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

Bütikofer, Niklaus [et al.]: Systematische Bestandsübersicht. Schweizerisches Bundesarchiv, Inventare (Bern 1991).

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