Archival institutions in the municipalities of Rio Grande do Sul

Abstract

This article investigates the fundamental elements of archival institutionalism as evidenced in the legislation of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul (RS) with more than 50,000 inhabitants. The analysis at the municipal level aimed to mitigate the lack of reliable data on archival institutions at this level. According to the National Council of Archives (CONARQ), "it is essential that Brazil has institutionalized municipal public archives, strengthened and positioned politically and strategically in the structure of municipal public administration, with adequate and trained human resources" (2014, p. 21). In other words, more than just existing, municipal public archives need to be endowed with the elements that make up archival institutionality to fulfill their legal duties. To achieve the objective of this work, we established a mixed methodological strategy (qualitative-quantitative), divided into six stages. The results presented summarize part of a series of similar investigations aimed at understanding not only how many and which public archival institutions exist in Brazil, but also how these bodies have been mobilized to fulfill their functions.