ACCESS TO ARCHIVES, ACCESS TO KNOWLEDGE

Abstract

Viewed upon as repositories of “original” materials, the concept of authenticity permeates the very meaning of archives. The aim of the following report is to present a set of research methods and techniques that historians use when embarking on a quest for original archival documents and, inevitably, a number of dilemmas connected with the (in)accessibility of sources. How important (and informing) is the archive’s role in the historians’ production of knowledge? Does professionalism of archivists influence profoundly the outcome of the researcher’s agenda and, at the same time, help mould further awareness of relevant archival material dispersed across collections and beyond national borders? Archivists play a significant part not only in creating information to produce social and historical knowledge but also in reconstituting social memories that never should never fade.