356 American Archivist / Summer 1988

Le Stage Technique International d'Archives: An Historical Overview and Future Prospects

PAULE RENE-BAZIN and MARIE-FRANgOISE TAMMARO

On 5 November 1951 the first Stage Tech- tiator of this new direction, decided to or- Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/51/3/356/2747675/aarc_51_3_d5686353r7646105.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 nique International d'Archives (Interna- ganize at the Archives Nationales a tional Program on Archives) opened its professional program open to foreign ar- doors. Its creator, Charles Braibant, then chivists and students. director-general of the French Archives Each participant would present the steps Nationales, had set two objectives- taken by his or her country's archives to strengthening the growing cooperation administer documents, arrange and de- among archivists around the world, and in- scribe them, and make them available. The troducing foreign professionals to the ap- possibility of a better harmonization of def- plied methods of the French archives. These initions, principles, and methods resulting goals reflect the personality of one man and from this work was anticipated.1 a particular time. Thirty-six years later, this During that year, six foreign stagiaires, program is a well-recognized international or participants, from Argentina, Greece, institution, in which almost eight hundred Haiti, Lebanon, England, and Brazil, were archivists from nearly ninety different met in by a young conservator, Ro- countries have participated. As a brief re- bert-Henri Bautier. They joined fourteen view of the history of this international pro- Frenchmen, all students in their last year gram, this article intends to examine the at the Ecole des Chartes. Together, they missions which have been attributed to it, attended about fifty sessions on the history, to analyze the present in order to grasp bet- content, organization, and methods of ter the objectives for the future. French and foreign archives, and partici- The first objective was to reinforce in- pated in exchanges of views following these ternational cooperation among professional sessions. They divided their free time be- archivists. In the context of the immediate tween the Sorbonne and other scholarly es- postwar years, archivists, especially those tablishments, where they could follow from the warring nations, felt the need to courses related to the lessons given at the initiate an international cooperation which Stage; museums and libraries where they previously had not existed. They held a could discover certain aspects of French congress, open to all, in 1950 and created culture; and archival repositories where they on this occasion the International Council could carry out personal research or re- on Archives, a forum for comparison of search on behalf of their home countries. their theories and traditions. The following The interest of this trial year has been year, Braibant, who was the principal ini- confirmed continually in the following years,

'Sec correspondence, 30 March 1951, from the director-general of the French Archives Nationales and pres- ident of the International Council on Archives in the Archives Nationales, scries ABXXXII, carton 1, file 1.

Paule Rene-Bazin is an archivist and paleographer, with the title of conservateur en chef at the Archives Nationales of . She has been in charge of the Service des Stages et Relations Internationales for one year. She previously represented the Archives Nationales at the Institut de France, the , the National Ministry of Education, and the offices of the prime minister. Rene-Bazin is currently director of the Stage Technique International d'Archives. Marie-Francoise Tammaro is Rene-Bazin's assistant. She began her career as an archaeologist in France and Italy. Since 1978 Tammaro has held the title of documentaliste at the Archives Nationales, in particular within the office of the Service des Stages et Relations Internationales. She has also contributed to literary publications. The International Scene 357

Participants in the first Stage Technique International d'Archives, 1952. At the center of the first row is Charles Braibant, director-general of the Archives de France and founder of the Stage. Photo courtesy of Archives Nationales de France. as the foreign participation at these stages tions. The establishment, under the guidance has increased rapidly, fluctuating from fif- of Unesco, of regional archival schools, teen to forty archivists and averaging be- notably in Africa —in Senegal for the tween twenty and twenty-five. An French-speaking countries and in Ghana for appropriate and useful directory of all for- anglophone countries—has modified this mer participants in the Stage will be pub- situation.2 Now, no matter what their geo- lished at the time of the XI International graphic origin, only professional archivists Congress on Archives in Paris in August are selected annually to come to the Stage. 1988. Table 1 shows clearly how truly in- See the appendix for an explanation of ad- ternational the Stage has become. missions requirements and procedures. In addition to the exchange of experi- It would be quite pretentious to imagine ences among archivists from countries with that all of the results of international co- long archival traditions, it is noteworthy that operation are from this program, since the functionaries from new African countries International Council on Archives and its and from Asia have come to Paris to search programs and publications are officially an for archival principles and professional inspiration and support for the Stage. But, training. In Paris they have found assist- it must be added, often the people involved ance, not only for the administration of their in these efforts are former stagiaires. In the new archives, but also for the implemen- ICA they continue their debates from their tation of legislation and necessary institu- time in Paris, in an ongoing spirit of har-

•These are the Ecole des Bibliothecaires, Archivistcs et Documcntalistes (EBAD) at the University of Dakar in Senegal, and the Department of Library and Archival Studies at the University of Ghana. 358 American Archivist / Summer 1988

Table 1 Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/51/3/356/2747675/aarc_51_3_d5686353r7646105.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 Le Stage Technique International d'Archives 1951-1987 Foreign Participants Classified by Country

Afghanistan 5 Finland 2 Nigeria 6 Albania 4 Gabon 7 Norway 1 Algeria 10 Ghana 1 The Netherlands 24 Argentina 8 Greece 5 Peru 1 Australia 2 Guinea 1 The Philippines 1 Austria 2 Haiti 6 Poland 36 Belgium 40 Hungary 8 Portugal 7 Benin 6 Iceland 1 Romania 23 Brazil 30 India 20 Rwanda 1 Bulgaria 17 Iran 4 Senegal 19 Burkina Faso 4 Ireland 5 South Africa 1 Burundi 1 Israel 5 Spain 38 Cameroon 3 Italy 40 Sudan 1 Canada 49 Ivory Coast 8 Sweden 7 Central African Japan 5 Switzerland 18 Republic 3 Jordan 1 Syria 6 Chad 3 Kenya 1 Thailand 2 Chile 2 Laos 1 Togo 2 Columbia 1 Lebanon 13 Tunisia 8 Comoros 2 Luxembourg 3 Turkey 8 Congo 2 Madagascar 3 United Arab Emirates 1 Costa Rica 2 Malaysia 2 United Kingdom 1 Cuba 2 Mali 6 USSR 15 Czechoslovakia 28 Mauritius 4 Uruguay 2 Denmark 5 Mexico 11 USA 5 Dominican Republic 2 Monaco 4 Venezuela 2 Ecuador 2 Morocco 7 Vietnam 8 Federal Republic of Nepal 2 Yugoslavia 22 Germany 89 Niger 2 Zaire 5 Total 776 The International Scene 359

mony inspired by the common training ac- the body of doctrine which is developed, quired at the Stage. These later encounters formalized, standardized, and implemented contribute in part to the harmonization of in the ensemble of French archival prac- national archivists. tices. It would not be at all the same if it The second objective of the program is were a matter of providing to the students to orient foreign archivists to French ar- an elementary orientation, which would Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/51/3/356/2747675/aarc_51_3_d5686353r7646105.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 chival methods. This international archival necessarily have to relate closely to the cul- program does not have as its objective the tural and economic situation in their home presentation of any universal archival prin- countries, where they would later practice ciple, or the presentation of a catalog of their profession. diverse doctrines and foreign techniques. In a very general sense, there is inevi- Rather, the ensemble of archival matters table evidence that the formation of archi- within the French context constitutes the vists is diverse and uneven, and, despite substance of the subjects taught. the progress made since the establishment The Stage has always taken place in Paris in 1976 of a committee for professional at the Archives Nationales. The adminis- training within the ICA, "the opinions are tration of the Archives of France has as- divided when it comes to the very utility sumed the responsibility for this program of any such formation, and among those since its creation, and has been concerned who believe in it, there is no consensus about providing service to the international about the duration, the content, or the level community and promoting its own archival of education."4 traditions. In 1952, Dr. Johannes Papritz, In France, for example, all professional- director of the State Archives at Marburg level conservators have been students at the and stagiaire that year, remarked, not with- Ecole des Chartes, which was established out humor, that the Archives of France could in 1821 to train generations of archivists "record a veritable victory—in the future, and scholars. All students upon graduation the international technical language for ar- have acquired a high level of expertise in chives would be French and the French diplomatics, paleography, philology in norms and organizations would be the point romance languages, and archaeology. If they of departure for international conversa- have chosen an archival career, they must 3 tions." complete their apprenticeship by partici- With more modesty, in 1988 it must be pating in the Stage Technique International admitted that the exclusive use of French d'Archives, which, since its inception, has limits the participation of certain countries, provided a more direct contact with the ad- notably anglophone countries, and it has ministrative and technical realities of their 5 weakened the theoretical exchanges. In ad- future careers. It is apparent that, even in dition, economics have made it difficult to French-speaking countries, the curriculum invite a great number of foreign lecturers. is most often quite different, but it must be Fortunately, the stagiaires are all experi- emphasized that it is not the role of the enced professionals, and it is fruitful for Stage to ensure the basic education. them to relate their varied backgrounds to

3See the thirteen-page report on the Stage, in the Archives Nationales, series ABXXX1I, carton 1, which was published in Das Archivas, February 1953. •"'Rapport sur la Mise en Place d'un Comite de la Formation Professionnelle au sein du Conseil International des Archives" (1976), 1; see also Charles Kecskemeti, "Contrastes et Nuances. Reflexions sur la Formation des Archivistes," Miscellanea Carlos Wyffels (Brussels, 1987), 245-53. 'This participation in the Stage has been obligatory since 1951. See the decrees of 13 October 1956 and 28 May 1969, and the decisions of 15 December 1969 and 17 November 1981. 360 American Archivist / Summer 1988

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BP t

The closing ceremony of the Stage in 1987. From right to left are Jean Favier, director-general of the Archives de France; Eckhart Franz, director of the state archives of Hesse (Federal Republic of Germany); Oscar Gauye, director of the Swiss Federal Archives; and an unidentified Stage partic- ipant from Chile. Photo courtesy of Archives Nationales de France.

The Program and Schedule of the lowed by discussions during which partic- Annual Sessions ipants may relate professional experiences The students of the Ecole des Chartes or experiences of colleagues in the home participate in a three-month internship in a country. The summaries of all of the papers provincial archive in France. Foreign sta- are collected and duplicated for each year. giaires who wish to complement the theo- Field trips to various public and private ar- retical content of the Stage with a practicum chival repositories in major research and join the students of the Ecole des Chartes business establishments complement the in this internship program, which takes place theoretical lectures. either before or after the Stage itself. For During the past few years, the general the majority of the foreigners, however, the trend in pedagogy has led to a reduction in dates of the Stage are set within the second the number and length of formal lectures, trimester of the calendar year, at present replaced by newer types of sessions. This from the beginning of April to the end of newer format focuses the attention of the June.6 audience and presents the information in The organization of the Stage is flexible, summary. The formal lecture is limited to in order to enable each participant to en- one hour to allow time, after a break, for gage in the program a la carte according to an organized debate among participants who his expertise and interests. As a general rule, specialize in the topic of the day. It has the sessions take place in the morning, fol- also seemed necessary to increase the num-

6This arrangement began in 1988; previous sessions met from January through March. The International Scene 361

ber of practicums in areas such as ap- The third group of sessions addressed praisal, arrangement and description, text records which have special requirements analysis, indexing, and automation. More either because of their physical character- and more, there will be invitations to ar- istics or of their institutional origin. These chivists with specialized expertise to come included audio-visual archives, sound ar- Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/51/3/356/2747675/aarc_51_3_d5686353r7646105.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 to the Stage to present their services. These chives, machine-readable records, and ar- adjustments reflect the concerns in current chives of former colonies. archival education, which demonstrate that The theme of the fourth set of sessions professional knowledge is not academic was current and essential techniques. Top- knowledge, that it concerns not only the- ics have been archives buildings, duplica- oretical knowledge but also must include a tion by microfilm, seals, conservation savoir-faire and savoir-vivre. What is more, workshops, and information management. the definition of professional competence A fifth and final series of working meet- is eminently evolutionary; in accordance, ings focused on the multiple administrative the program of the Stage has evolved con- and cultural tasks of the archivist, includ- siderably since 1951, following the changes ing administrative responsibilities and per- in society and according to the needs of the sonal interaction in an archival setting, profession. cultural programs in local archives, archi- For example, in 1987 the entire program val museums and historical exhibits, public was divided into three-week periods, each relations, and public lectures by archivists. comprised of formal lectures, practicums, Finally, within the course of the Stage, and field trips. The first period concerned a three-day study trip is offered, which en- the management of records, from the ac- ables the participants to observe first-hand quisition by the records office to the prep- the operation of diverse types of archives. aration and promotion for their use, Thus, in 1987 the stagiaires traveled to the including the following topics: classifica- south of France, where they visited de- tion principles, appraisal, preparation of partmental archivists at the Archives of traditional finding aids, content analysis and Vaucluse in Avignon, the central reposi- indexing, documentary data-processing in tory for microfilm in the castle of Es- records centers, provision of access in peyran, and the overseas archives in Aix- French archives, and records management. en-Provence. The participants gained ex- The second period concerned the organ- posure to both the most traditional reposi- ization of types of archival offices and their tories and those which use the most advanced missions in the public as well as the private forms of technology and recent historical sectors. These included archives in French concepts. territories, municipal archives, business ar- This ensemble of sessions traditionally chives, labor and business archives, the in- is enriched by lectures delivered by direc- ternational organization of historical tors of foreign archives, who speak on as- research, archives in developing countries, pects of archival experiences in their own the administrative organization of the French countries. Unfortunately, however, these archives, and the archival control, acqui- sessions have been few in number.7 sition, and management of archives in cen- With the origin of the Stage Technique tral administrations and in national, public International d'Archives dating from World establishments. War II, a new phase in the focus of the

7In 1987 lectures were given on "Archives, Bibliotheque, et Documentation: l'Experience Allemande" by Eckhart Franz, director of the state archives of Hesse, and on the Swiss archival system by Oscar Gauye, director of the Swiss Federal Archives. 362 American Archivist / Summer 1988

Stage now seems to be within reach, thanks mobility. In particular, an increase in the to new techniques in communication and number of English-speaking participants in accompanying changes in human inter- would certainly result in enhanced produc- action, be they simultaneous translation or tivity of the Stage. Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/51/3/356/2747675/aarc_51_3_d5686353r7646105.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021

Appendix Qualifications for Admission

Admission into the Stage Technique In- ternational d'Archives is restricted to ar- chivists who have already acquired some years of archival experience. A knowledge of French is indispensible, since the entire program is conducted in this language. Applicants should address their request for admission into the program to the Di- rection des Archives de France, at the fol- lowing address: Archives Nationales, 60, rue des Francs-Bourgeois, 75141 Paris Cedex 03 France. They should include a curriculum vitae, describing their current responsibilities and their principal inter- ests. The application deadline for each year is January 1. There are no participation fees. Only the costs of travel, accommodations and meals, and the trip at the end of the Stage are the responsibility of the participants. A certain number of study scholarships are granted to foreign functionaries by the French Min- istry of Foreign Affairs, after the candi- dates have been approved by the Archives de France.