The International Scene: News and Abstracts

Belgium. [Paul V. and Simone U. Guite, Washington, D.C.] Archives et Bibliotheques de Belgique, vol. 47, no. 1-2 (1976). In this issue a French and a Dutch archiThis content downloaded from 207.46.13.83 on Fri, 13 May 2016 07:27:16 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 526 THE AMERICAN ARCHIVISTOctober 1976 vist examine the subject of archives guides. Michel Duchein, head of the Direction des Archives de France, states that archival practice in the French language has restricted the use of the term guide to three basic types or categories: those that describe the depository as a whole, those that describe a series or record group, and those that describe by research subject or theme. Duchein elaborates further on each of these types of guides. J. M. F. Ijsseling of the municipal archives of Breda describes (pp. 146-58) archives guides in the Netherlands. According to the author, the archives administration in the Netherlands is characterized by the maintenance of remarkable inventories. The major portion of the article is, however, devoted to a survey of guides in the state and municipal archives and other archival depositories. Miscellanea Archivistica, vol. 10(1975). Archivist of the Kingdom Carlos Wyfells reviews (pp. 5-15) the archives situation in Belgium as affected by the law of June 24, 1955, and the enforcement decree of December 12, 1957. The legislation established an inspection division within the General State Archives whose primary function is to generate the disposition of current and noncurrent records of municipal authorities and public institutions. Subsequent legislation also established a number of depositories in the various judicial districts of Belgium. Wyfells claims that a lack of space and trained personnel in the archives as well as a corresponding absence of qualified record managers in the various ministries have hindered practical application of these decrees. He does add, however, that the contacts made between the General State Archives, government, and local authorities will eventually provide beneficial results. Also, Archivist Wyfells pays particular attention to the exigencies of archives administration in Belgium and to the need for strengthening, qualitatively and quantitatively, nonscientific personnel. Andree Scuf flaire of the sigillography section describes (pp. 17-26) the casting of seals in the newly-opened workshop at the General State Archives. Construction of the Alberane Library required the demolition of the old workshop in 1952. The new facility contains twenty-eight metallic closets grouped in fours, back to back, on each of the building's two floors. A description of the technical processes involved in the casting of seals and of the results the archives workshop had achieved by 1974 is included. J. Pieyns of the information retrieval service of the state archives at Liege states (pp. 27-39) that the use of information storage and retrieval systems in the archives has revealed a number of common applications and principles. These include: indexing, preparation of catalogs and inventories, information retrieval, arrangement and preservation of machine-readable records, records management and statistical analysis, and problem-solving techniques. Since the necessary resources are expensive for implementation and maintenance of a retrieval program, Pieyns questions the role of such a costly item in an archival institution like the Liege archives. As he sees it, the situation will force the state archives into this area as the archives accessions an ever-increasing amount of records of a machine-readable nature. There is no dispute about the usefulness of computer technology in archives, states Pieyns, provided that the expended money and scientific effort is proportionate to the desired ends. He also expresses a desire to see greater cooperation and collaboration between administrative personnel in the central state archives and their counterparts on the provincial and local level. Only in this atmosphere will the proper accession, preservation, and exploitation of these "new archives" be accomplished. This content downloaded from 207.46.13.83 on Fri, 13 May 2016 07:27:16 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms THE INTERNATIONAL SCENE 527 In another article in this issue, Pieyns describes (pp. 53-74) a research project utilizing computer and parish registry tables. It is known by the acronym, NAMADE, which comprises the first two letters of the French words for birth (NAissance), marriage (MAriage), and death (DEces). Parish registers and the accompanying alphabetical tables are the most widely used body of records at the various depositories, and implementation of the system could greatly facilitate reference service. R. Laurent, in reviewing the status of the education office at the state archives (pp. 41-51), laments the fact that there is no distinct educational programs staff with strong teacher contacts. Under the existing arrangement, archivists from the sigillography branch coordinate the archives educational program and its participation with other organizations. These archivists, with the assistance of other archival personnel, carry out educational programs. Although this arrangement does produce results, it has its shortcomings. Laurent discusses some objectives that a good educational programs office might provide: establishment of permanent exhibits in the provincial depositories, reorganization of the permanent exhibit at the General State Archives, and distribution of instructional material to visitors. The key factor limiting the scope of any proposed project is, however, adequate funding. The annual budget for educational services is only 400,000 Belgian francs, and this sum must be distributed among fifteen depositories. An adequate budget would, Laurent claims, enable the education office to enact many worthwhile projects. Brazil. [Laura V. Monti, University of Florida] Arquivo & Administracao, vol. 3, no. 3 (December 1975). In an article on the evaluation and selection of archival documents (pp. 7-14), Nilza Teixeira Soares, director of archives coordination in the Chamber of Deputies, discusses the serious problem of the proliferation of records and their evaluation for achives. In Brazil this problem has reached such an acute state that the author calls for immediate action to establish criteria to preserve and protect the documentary patrimony. According to Soares, a mere reduction in the quantity of records would not only be a waste of time and money, but would also jeopardize archival preservation. Effective records control starts with the administrative unit that creates them. To insure continued uniformity during the entire creation-disposition cycle, Soares perceives a need for a national policy. With such a policy there would be a permanent board, working in conjunction with a group of subject specialists, to oversee the selection and preservation of records. Since evaluation is so important in the appraisal process, it is imperative to determine primary and secondary values of the records. As the author sees it, the administrative unit which creates the record lias the responsibility to indicate the primary value, whereas the committee of specialists merely defines the informational (secondary) value. In any effective records reduction program, the key to success is cooperation. Only with total cooperation of all concerned parties can the pitfalls of a haphazard approach to the proliferation/reduction problem be avoided. Soares also raises the issue of government apathy which could seriously affect the program, and thus urges steps to arouse official interest in the advantages of sound records management practices. As a possible solution to the massive production of records and the accompanying storage problem, the author suggests creation of intermediate archives (records centers) which other countries have found beneficial. Jeanete da Silveira Lopes considers (pp. 22-25) the possibility of applying data processing methods to archives and microfilm. There is also an up-dated bibliography of English language works on records management and information retrieval