State Records and Archives Department of Việt Nam
In accordance with the foregoing legislation, the
State Records and Archives Department of Việt Nam (
Cục Văn thư và Lưu trữ Nhà nước) is responsible for: (i) preparing and submitting legislative documents on archives and records management to the Minister of Home Affairs for approval; (ii) submitting overall development strategies and policies, long term and annual plans on archives and records management to the Minister of Home Affairs for approval; (iii) issuing guidelines on the implementation of archival work and records management in accordance with the decisions of the Minister of Home Affairs; (iv) organising, guiding and inspecting the implementation of government stipulations on archives and records management; (v) Managing the holdings of the State Records and Archives Department, including (a) instructing, selecting, preserving and utilising records at National Archives Centre, at historical archives and at archives of government agencies, social and professional organisations, businesses and the armed forces, and (b) providing advice to individuals and families regarding the task of collecting, preserving and protecting private archives of national significance in accordance with prevailing laws; (vi) preparing state statistics on archives and records management; (vii) organising and conducting research work and applying scientific and technological advancements in archival work and records management; (viii) promoting international co-operation in the field of archival work and records management as directed by the Minister of Home Affairs; (ix) making decisions and guiding the implementation of the Administrative Reform Programme amongst divisions and units subordinated to the State Records and Archives Department as directed by the Minister of Home Affairs; (x) inspecting, checking and investigating complaints, and denouncing and dealing with violations of the law relating to archives and records management; and (xi) conducting training and retraining for archives and records management personnel and organising ‘Emulation Drives’ and rewarding good work in the field of archiving.
At the time of writing the State Records and Archives Department of Việt Nam has just over 300 staff members, some 50 per cent of whom have been educated to undergraduate or postgraduate level.
The State Records and Archives Department of Việt Nam manages three public records repositories which collectively preserve nearly 30 linear kilometres of records of national significance.
National Archives Centre 1 (
Trung tâm Lưu trữ Quốc gia 1) in Hà Nội is responsible for collecting, acquiring, preserving and making effective use of archival records of national significance from feudal times (with the exception of woodblock records) and from the French colonial period. It houses a total of six linear kilometres of archival material, including 60 archive collections and records groups, plus a range of books and materials dating from 1488 to 1945, including:
Hán-Nôm (Chinese and Sino-transcribed Vietnamese) records produced by the feudal dynasties of Việt Nam, principally royal records (
Châu bản) and land records (
Địa bạ) of the Nguyễn kings and records of the Royal Viceroy in Bắc Kỳ (Tonkin) and Thọ Xương District (now Hà Nội) from 1802 to 1945; Records of the French colonial administration from 1858 to 1945, including documents of the Governors General of Indochina, the Residents Superior of Tonkin and the Residents of Tonkin’s Provinces; records produced by the French-backed administrations in the north of Việt Nam between 1945 and 1954; scientific and technological records of over 200 architectural, irrigation and traffic projects in Tonkin prior to 1945; and historical books, periodicals, reviews and official gazettes published prior to 1945. Finding aids include inventory lists, indexes, catalogues, cards and guidebooks. Initial databases have been set up for the royal records of the Nguyễn dynasty and the records of the Governor Generals of Indochina.
National Archives Centre 2 (
Trung tâm Lưu trữ Quốc gia 2) in Hồ Chí Minh City is responsible for collecting, acquiring, preserving and making effective use of archival records of national significance from the feudal period and from the French colonial territories of Annam and Cochinchina, the southern region of Việt Nam. It houses a total of 15 linear kilometres of archival material, comprising 55 archive collections and records groups, 4,369 disks, 600 sound recordings and 70,000 photographs and negatives dating from 1802 to the present, including: administrative records produced by the Governors General of Cochinchina, the Governors of Annam, the US-backed Government of South Việt Nam and various revolutionary organisations established in the south after 1975; scientific and technological records such as maps and atlases dating from 1862 to 1975; audio-visual records, photographs, films, newsreels and sound recordings produced before 1975; over 30,000 woodblock records of various books and bibliographies produced by the Nguyễn dynasty (1802-1945), which have been reproduced on paper and also copied onto CD-ROM; and collections of some 17,930 books and monographs, including 169 volumes in
Hán-Nôm (Chinese and Sino-transcribed Vietnamese). Finding aids include inventory lists, catalogues and index cards. Initial databases have been set up for the most important record groups.
Opened in April 2002,
National Archives Centre 3 (
Trung tâm Lưu trữ Quốc gia 3) in in Hà Nội is housed in a brand new repository located close to the State Records and Archives Department headquarters. It is responsible for collecting, acquiring, preserving and making effective use of archival records of national significance created by central, regional and inter-regional agencies and institutions of the Democratic Republic of Việt Nam (1945-1976) and the Socialist Republic of Việt Nam (1976-present). It houses a total of 10 linear kilometres of archival material, including: administrative records produced by state central agencies and institutions such as the National Assembly, Government, Ministries and regional and inter-regional committees from 1945 to present; scientific and technological records, including records of the design and construction of important national works such as the Hồ Chí Minh Mausoleum and Ba Đình Square, Hòa Bình Hydro-electric Power Station, the North-South 500 Kv transmission line, Thăng Long Bridge and maps of administrative land borders; audio-visual records, including over 6,000 sound recording reels and tapes, over 350,000 photos and negatives, hundreds of video tapes and documentary and newsreel films of historical value; and personal papers and records, including personal papers, manuscripts of creative works by famous scientists, writers, artists and political figures.
Unclassified documents in the three National Archives Centres are accessible to the public – including foreign researchers - on written request. The three Centres currently receive some 200 foreign researchers every year.
The State Records and Archives Department of Việt Nam administers a nationwide network of some 70 provincial and municipal archives. Some 40 per cent of staff in these regional centres have university degrees and over 50 per cent are graduates of the Department’s two secondary schools.
As part of the upgrade of 2002 which resulted in the construction of the new National Archives Centre 3, the State Records and Archives Department has made significant progress with automation, establishing a Local Area Network (LAN) to link its headquarters with National Archives Centre 1, National Archives Centre 3 and the Central Secondary School of Records Management and Archives 1 in Hà Nội and a Wide Area Network (WAN) to connect it to National Archives Centre 2 and the Central Secondary School of Records Management and Archives 2 in Hồ Chí Minh City. Efforts are currently being made to expand the WAN to link up all of the provincial and municipal archive facilities throughout the country. The National Archives has also introduced digital capture and CD-ROM technologies with a view to enhancing access to and preserving its more important collections.
A
Việt Nam Archives Association was set up within the State Records and Archives Department in 2001 to represent and support the work of Vietnamese individuals and organisations engaged in archival and records management work, and bring them together for exchange and professional development. It is chaired by the Director General of the Department.
In addition to its three public records repositories, the National Archives operates a