French Archvist’s Association: the history, problems, aspects.

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Annotation / Aннотация
The article is about history of creation French Archvist’s Association, its structure, its history between 1904 and 2009, its active tasks and its contribution to progress of French archival science and practice.
В статье рассмотрены история создания, структура и задачи Ассоциации архивистов Франции (AAF) (1904-2009) и оценена ее роль в развитии французского архивного дела и архивной науки.

Keywords / Ключевые слова
Professional archivist and records manager association, archival manuals and formal curses, archival cross media publishing, France. Профессиональное объединение архивных специалистов, учебники и стажировки по архивной тематике, электронные и печатные публикации об архивах, Франция.

The Association of French Archivists (AAF) has been created in 1904, during the uneasy moment of history of the French archives. Quantitative and qualitative characteristics of archival fund of the country varied in beginning ХХ century very quickly, and possibilities of intervention of archivists in its formation have been still limited. Threat of methodical stagnation in the face of экспоненциально increasing документной demanded weight to unite the best minds for the decision of those problems with which “the archival power” did not consult. The association of archivists became the tool of the help to Management of archives structure in which archivists of all departments, irrespective of their subordination gathered for discussion of shared problems. Not casually, in 1905 The Association of the French Archivists called to codify norms about activity of departmental archives (in particular about explanatory notes drawing up) though collections of rules about work of departmental and municipal archives have been published only after the First World War. Absence of the modern law on archives on which acceptance insisted AAF, also braked branch and technique development.

Despite institution, AAF has kept the basic function for which has been created – assistance to an exchange by opinions among archivists and to formation of the general for a trade of approaches and techniques, the points of view and valuable installations. Therefore, besides "profile" sections in AAF five thematic working groups work, some of which gives the status of the commissions.

Educational centre AAF created in 1984 allows all wishing employees of archives to get necessary qualification or to raise it, through participation in special courses. From the moment of the creation the centre has accepted more than 1 500 trainees with the most various educational requirements. Only in 2008 323 trainees participated in 35 training. The importance of contribution AAF in archival formation becomes especially clear at comparison of the French situation with Russian. “The historic-archival institute in Moscow is, from my point of view, a unique place, - the permanent teacher of the basic archival disciplines at School of Charters writes, professor B. Delmas, - where, for example, cinema-photo-fono documents are considered in an educational cycle and from the point of view of the material carrier, and from the point of view of their maintenance, and from positions of the source study analysis … Today in France we are compelled to collect on particles the similar program scattered between faculties of universities and the higher schools and courses of National audiovisual institute”.

In France, as well as to Russia, the international partnership in archival sphere it is often considered as deduction of an archival policy of the countries of “a zone of national interests” within the limits of the archival doctrine. Therefore it is difficult to tell, as far as possible long-term partnership ROIA and AAF, and it should accept what forms. Certainly that from the further development of dialogue of two archival schools will win not only the Russian and French archival services, but also world archival community.

Reforms of last years have demanded from AAF the modernisation, which inspirers of a steel keepers of national property of Xavier de la Sal, Anri Zjuber and Christina Martinez. In 2010 the association has updated the Internet site, has moved to new premises, and also has cancelled recommendations from two active members for entering its numbers. These measures show that AAF is valid more and more considerably, than “Club of keepers of an archival heritage”, this association of the professionals, wishing to develop and creatively to apply the archival doctrine of France.