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Commonwealth Central Archives
The Commonwealth Central Archives is a constituent organisation of the Ministry of Culture.
The Commonwealth Central Archives (also just Archives) is a corporation of the Bureau of Records and Correspondence and is the central documents store, management and database organisation of Vekllei. The Archives serves as the definitive repository for historically significant documents and provides research access to scholars, government officials and the public.
The Archives document the general disposition, welfare, culture and demography of the people of the Commonwealth. This includes political attitudes towards the Commonwealth itself, as well as how decisions made by other ministries impact public opinion.
It is centralised across several climate-controlled storage facilities, operates specialised preservation laboratories, and provides archival services to government departments. It also manages optical preservation archives and coordinates with international archival institutions.
Constituents
- Federal Depository: Largest central archive facility in Vekllei located in Oslola, jointly operated with the National Library.
- Archive Indies: Regional archive located in Barbados.
- Archive Afrique: Regional archive located in Praia.
- Federal Vault: Secure knowledge vault in Helvasia that stores computerised backups of the archives.
- Public Research Services Reading rooms and research assistance for scholars and public.
- Federal Document Laboratory: Conservation and restoration of damaged or fragile documents located in the Lola borough of Oslola.
- Electric Archives Laboratory: Electronic preservation of archival materials.
- Slavery Oral History Programme: Collection and preservation of recorded interviews and testimonies in conjunction with the Atlantic History Federation.
- Carib & Lucayan Oral History Programme: Collection and preservation of indigenous Carib and Arawak cultural history in conjunction with the Atlantic History Federation.
Departments
- Historical Collections: Manages the archival and preservation of significant historical records, artefacts and cultural materials.
- Colonial Records Collection
- Contemporary Records Collection
- Ancient History & Artefacts
- Cultural Heritage Materials
- Government Records Section: Oversees the official archives of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government.
- Office of Executive Records
- Office of Legislative Documents
- Office of Judicial Archives
- Depository & Public Access Services: Provides research facilities and public access to the archives’ collections.
- Office of Research Services