Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1946-1989 (Accumulation)
Level of description
Collection
Extent and medium
Context area
Name of creator
Administrative history
Repository
Archival history
In 1984, a fire in a Central Registry filing room destroyed approximately 740 linear metres of official correspondence subject files. The material mostly dated from 1965 to 1977. A list of the file titles and/or CDU codes of destroyed and damaged files exists and can be consulted on site. UNESCO Archivists have identified possible alternative sources of information for the material that was lost.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The collection consists of UNESCO records that were routed to and organized by a centralized Registry Section. The principal and system of classification used by the Registry was Universal Decimal Classification. The collection is further organized into three series based on three chronological periods: 1946-1956; 1957-1966; and 1967 to roughly 1989.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
As a general rule, Secretariat correspondence and administrative files are open for consultation after twenty years, counted from the most recent item in the file.
Access to a document or file not yet within the open consultation period may be granted by the Chief Archivist on an exceptional basis with the agreement of the appropriate official(s) or unit(s) of the Secretariat.
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Different indexes available:
- Abridged filing plan for the official dossiers in use by the Secretariat of UNESCO (GES/WS/2), AG 8/2.1
- Index of inactive correspondence files, 1st series, 1946-1956, AG 8/2.2 REG
- Index of inactive correspondence files, 2nd series, 1957-1966, AG 8/2.3 REG
- Registry files: card index, 1946-
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
For the present moment, lower-level descriptions are being entered only for subsubseries and files considered a high priority. Some of the files have also been scanned. For a more complete idea of the different files in the series, please see the Abridged filing plan or the Index of inactive correspondence finding aids mentioned above.