ARCHIVES

Access to the records and documents of the past is indispensable for the understanding of history. This fact has long been acknowledged and, since the Middle Ages, the Danish State Archives have procured and accumulated public administrative records and documents of historical importance.

In order to take technological and other developments into account, material other than papers and documents is also archived and one major task facing the State Archives at present is the preservation of digital material for posterity.

The Public Archives Act of 1992 was Denmark’s first legislative initiative in the field of archives. The Act lays down the overarching principles governing public archives and how public bodies are to treat their records. The Public Archives Act requires public bodies to submit their records to the State Archives so that they can be made accessible to the public after a period of thirty years. Municipalities are not obligated to submit their records to the public archives.

As a general rule, all citizens are granted free access to material that is thirty years old or older. However, records containing information of a private nature on an individual citizen are only released to the public after eighty years and a release date of greater than thirty years may be imposed in cases of national security, etc.

In administering archives, every attempt is made to accommodate general public interest in the material of the past and the need for openness. Applications may be made for access to material that is not scheduled for release for thirty years. If the application is successful, certain restrictions on the use of such material are often imposed. This procedure prevents the violation of a citizen’s right to privacy or breaches of State security, etc.

THE DANISH STATE ARCHIVES
The Danish State Archives were established in 1992. The primary purpose of the Danish State Archives is to ensure the preservation of authentic documentation of every possible aspect of the development of Danish society. The following entities make up a part of the Danish State Archives.

The Danish National Archives take possession of and preserve central administrative records and the records of other central governmental agencies.

The four provincial archives in Copenhagen, Odense, Viborg and Aabenraa oversee the records of local governmental bodies (counties, parishes, districts and others). Moreover, many municipalities, local authorities and county councils deposit their records with their respective provincial archive.

The Danish National Business Archives, which houses documents, balance sheets, etc., of commercial enterprises and organisations, and the Danish Data Archives, which files and provides information on national and international computer data relevant to the understanding of society.

OTHER INSTITUTIONS
In addition to the above-referenced archives, there are a number of other archives. Several local municipalities have established archives for the preservation of municipal records (city archives). In addition, there are over 400 local historical archives scattered throughout the country. These collections comprise records, photographs and other local material, predominantly of a private origin.

The Danish Language Council is a state institute operated under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture. The Language Council monitors and researches developments in the Danish language by cataloguing new words and word usage, among other things.

FINANCE
Total public spending on archives in 2005 is budgeted at DKK 156,9.

THE NATIONAL PRIVATE ARCHIVES DATABASE (DANPA)
Danpa is a database comprising 100,000 private archives and providing access to local historical information. With Danpa, the user may search for information held by private archives and archives belonging to businesses, companies, branches, associations and organisations, and several private institutions. Most of this material stems from local archives. www.danpa.dk

ADDRESSES

The Danish State Archives
(Statens Arkiver)
Rigsdagsgården 9
DK-1218 Copenhagen K
Tel. +45 33 92 33 10
www.statensarkiver.dk

The Danish Language Council
(Dansk Sprognævn)
Njalsgade 80
DK-2300 Copenhagen S
Tel. +45 35 32 89 82
www.dsn.dk