A JOURNEY THROUGH THE READING ROOMS OF THE ARCHIVES
On December 1, 2023, the results of the republican competition «Best Reading Room of the State Archive» (hereinafter referred to as the Competition) were summed up for the first time.
The start of this event was given on February 3, 2023, when during an extended meeting of the board of the Department of Archives and Records Management of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus «On the results of the work of the archival industry of the Republic of Belarus for 2022 and tasks for 2023» Minister of Justice S.N.Khomenko set the task of carrying it out.
The competition, held from September 1 to November 30, 2023, was organized by the Department of Archives and Records Management of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus (hereinafter referred to as the Department) together with the main justice departments of regional executive committees in order to improve the work of reading rooms, improve the quality of user service, and select the most effective solutions when working with citizens. The Republican Competition Commission, chaired by the Director of the Department O.L.Voinov, included representatives of the Department, the main departments of justice, regional and zonal archives.
At the first stage of the competition, competition materials were submitted to the Republican Competition Commission and regional competition commissions by the republican, regional and zonal state archives. At the second stage, an assessment of the archives’ reading rooms was carried out.
In accordance with the declared nominations, state archives were identified in November to participate in the Competition.
The assessment of the work of the reading rooms was determined according to the presented analytical reports, as well as according to 10 main criteria, 5 of which were through visual perception.
6 republican archives, 6 regional and 5 zonal archives took part in the competition.
The winners were:
in the nomination «Best Reading Room of the Republican Archives» – State Institution «National Archives of the Republic of Belarus»;
in the nomination «Best Reading Room of the Regional State Archives» – the institution «State Archives of the Vitebsk Region»;
in the category «Best Reading Room of the Zonal State Archives» – the institution «Zonal State Archive in Rechitsa».
Prizes have been developed especially for the Winners of the Competition – challenge marks for each nomination. The badges will be presented at an extended meeting of the Department’s board at the end of the year.
This Competition makes it possible to familiarize the entire archival community with the state of the reading rooms of state archives. The exchange of experience in this area contributes to the search for the most effective forms of work and the establishment of common approaches; dissemination of positive experience; developing the creative potential and professional skills of reading room workers, increasing the prestige of state archives and popularizing archival documents as an important component of the work on patriotic education and the formation of civil society.
Each member of the commission expressed his opinion on the presented materials. Solidarity was shown in determining the winners in the nominations «Best reading room of the republican archive» and «Best reading room of the regional state archive». After a discussion, the winner was determined by a majority vote in the category «Best reading room of the zonal state archive».
The experience gained from the competition held for the first time, the reasoned speeches of the commission members about the work of the reading rooms and methods for assessing their work showed the timeliness of holding such a competition.
Member of the commission, director of the institution «Zonal State Archives in Slutsk» I.A.Borodina emphasized that «I studied the competition materials along with the entire archive, the team learned a lot of useful things for themselves, and this will be used in the future in their work».
Director of the Department O.L.Voinov noted that «The first competition was held with dignity and beauty. We all won because we saw what we need to strive for. You get an idea of the archive when you get acquainted with the work of its reading room. And this is the only place where you can directly familiarize yourself with the stored documents. The reading room is not just a special room, it has a special aura. The four components of success are funds, users, material resources and our people – archivists. In order to properly organize the work of the reading room, it is necessary to have a real idea of the quantitative and qualitative composition of users, and the topics of research. It is by the work of the reading room that visitors judge the work of the archive as a whole. This is where the quality of work of all other structural divisions is demonstrated».
The competition further demonstrated that the work of the reading room always arouses natural interest in this structural unit of the archives.
According to the Regulations on the competition, approved by the Director of the Department for Archives and Records Management of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus on July 18, 2023 No.44, the competition is held once every two years (in odd-numbered years).
We expect that in 2025 all reading rooms of state archives will be ready to become worthy competitors in the fight for the title of the best. An updated vision of presenting the results of the work of reading rooms as modern and multifunctional information centers, including centers for the patriotic education of the younger generation based on carefully preserved historical documents, is welcomed. The first experience of such a competition showed the importance of work in this direction.
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| 1. Meeting of the Republican Competition Commission on the organization, conduct and evaluation of participants in the competition «Best Reading Room of the State Archives». Director of the Department of Archives and Records Management Voinov O.L. – Chairman of the competition commission |
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| 2. Meeting of the Republican Competition Commission on the organization, conduct and evaluation of participants in the competition «Best Reading Room of the State Archive» |
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| 3. Meeting of the Republican Competition Commission on the organization, conduct and evaluation of participants in the competition «Best Reading Room of the State Archive» |
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| 4. Meeting of the Republican Competition Commission on the organization, conduct and evaluation of participants in the competition «Best Reading Room of the State Archive» |
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| 5. Meeting of the Republican Competition Commission on the organization, conduct and evaluation of participants in the competition «Best Reading Room of the State Archive» |
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| 6. Meeting of the Republican Competition Commission on the organization, conduct and evaluation of participants in the competition «Best Reading Room of the State Archive» |