Department for Archives and Records Management of the Justice Ministry held an extended board meeting
On 22 January 2015 the Department for Archives and Records Management of the Justice Ministry held an extended board meeting to review the results of the archives and records management authorities and the state archival institutions in Belarus in 2014 and to set the objectives for 2015.
Attending the meeting were Deputy Minister for Justice E. Kovalenko, heads and deputy heads of the main justice boards at the regional executive committees and the Minsk City Executive Committee, heads of the archives and records divisions, directors of the state archives, members of the Department for Archives and Records Management. In all, 65 persons attended the meeting.
Director of the Department for Archives and Records Management V. Adamushko delivered a report. Directors of the state archives and representatives from the regions took part in the debates. In 2014 the state archives continued to implement the Archives of Belarus State Programme for 2011-2015. 1,7 billion roubles were spent from the Republic budget. In the regions the activities were financed from the local funds to the sum of 8,0 billion roubles.
As on 1 January 2015 the state archives held 49 197 fonds; 12 624 458 paper items; 40 364 film records; 254 249 photographic records; 17 994 sound records; 4 017 video records; 13 electronic fonds, 602 electronic records; 700 museum items. The especially valuable files in 28 state archives are 340 578, which makes up 2,7% of the total number of the storage units.
An important activity at the state archives is the provision of information services and the execution of legal and social inquiries. During the past year the state archives handled over 31 500 inquiries from citizens, executed 277 genealogical requests and over 15 000 subject requests. 14 949 people visited the archives in person. The State Heraldry Register of the Republic of Belarus has added 85 official heraldic symbols.
In 2014 the state archives organized 77 exhibitions, published 13 books, including 10 collections of documents and directories based on the archive documents.