Latin American Archivology, 1951-1953
HE ARCHIVES OF Latin America continue to make important contributions to intellectual life through their service and publications. They are still hampered by inadequate quarters, poorly trained personnel and insufficient funds, with which to effectively carry out their functions. However, it is to be noted that there is growing interest and progress in the proper preservation of records, and greater appreciation of their importance for the cultural life of the American nations. Concrete evidence of the attention given to the archives is the construction of new buildings in Guatemala, Ecuador, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. Construction is also receiving much consideration in Argentina, Venezuela, Costa Rica, and Honduras, where the directors are insisting on its necessity. Although, in general, funds for publications are limited or lacking, a number of the archives have been able to make worthy contributions in this field. As will be noted from the bibliographies below, outstanding contributions were made by the national archives of Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, and Ecuador, as well as by numerous local archives in Argentina and Brazil. The directors of the other archives repeatedly recommend the assigning of funds for this phase of their work. In all the archives the work of arrangement, classification and cataloguing are carried on to the extent permitted by the available personnel. This serves to make more of the records available to scholars. In some archives there are regular accessions, but in many the lack of space prevents the acceptance of additional documents. During the period under review, there were several changes in the directorships of national archives. These changes are noted below.