Selected Reviews of State Archive Resource Guides in Polish Journals Issued in the Years 1959–2017

Abstract

This article focuses on selected reviews of state archive resource guides in Polish journals. The query was based on the following journals: „Archeion”, „Archiwa, Biblioteki i Muzea Kościelne”, „Archiwista Polski” i „Archiwa – Kancelarie – Zbiory”. In addition, the author uses singular reviews of archive resource guides found in „Zapiski Historyczne”, „Przegląd Zachodnio-Pomorski”, „Roczniki Dziejów Społecznych i Gospodarczych”, „Kwartalnik Historii Kultury Materialnej” and „Rocznik Biblioteki Narodowej”. A total number of 18 reviews of 11 archive resource guides, published in the years 1958–2016, were analyzed. The reviews themselves were published between 1959 and 2017. Analyzing archive resource guides, the author deals with very sensitive material which is very challenging to be assessed explicitly. Each time, the reviews resulted from extensive studies, which were often the result of time-consuming work performed by teams consisting of many experts. The question of whether there is still a place for traditional book guides to archive resources in the modern world will probably remain an open question for a long time. The analysis of guidebooks issued in the traditional form is always a unique moment and invariably constitutes a great challenge for all archives. Each time it is associated with the intensification of work; it allows for the improvement and unification of archival records. It also provides a greater precision of the existing information on the archive resources. The analyzed reviews of the state archive resource guides show how many possibilities there may occur to commit a mistake in the process of such an analysis.