<p>The governor collections at the Colorado State Archives are a rich source for research and information about social science and the history of the state, but they are not always easy to research due to their differences in taxonomy through different eras. In my work with creating an archival research handbook for a governor collection I chose governor Ralph Carr to both illustrate the challenges as well as the thrills with historical research in a collection from the office of the governor.</p><p>Ralph Carr's collection takes patience to research. Some series will have inconsistent taxonomy and other series lack sub-series, and if a researcher is not familiar with the terminology of state affairs, many documents can pose a challenge. It is my hope that this handbook will be of use for both amateur researchers as well as provide a few short-cuts for more seasoned scholars. Governor Carr's collection covers some of the most dramatic years in Colorado history, the first part of WWII, and it is frequently requested for research, but many researchers get stuck between the vast amount of documents only sorted by dates, for instance in the series marked "Council of Defense", which contains many interesting documents about the Japanese-Americans who were to be deported to the Granada Relocation camp, or Camp Amache, as it was popularly called. It is my hope that the guide will not only provide such researchers some relief, but also to get the reader a sense for Colorado History, The Colorado State Archives and for the Governor collections in general.</p>

The governor collections at the Colorado State Archives are a rich source for research and information about social science and the history of the state, but they are not always easy to research due to their differences in taxonomy through different eras. In my work with creating an archival research handbook for a governor collection I chose governor Ralph Carr to both illustrate the challenges as well as the thrills with historical research in a collection from the office of the governor. Ralph Carr's collection takes patience to research. Some series will have inconsistent taxonomy and other series lack sub-series, and if a researcher is not familiar with the terminology of state affairs, many documents can pose a challenge. It is my hope that this handbook will be of use for both amateur researchers as well as provide a few short-cuts for more seasoned scholars. Governor Carr's collection covers some of the most dramatic years in Colorado history, the first part of WWII, and it is frequently requested for research, but many researchers get stuck between the vast amount of documents only sorted by dates, for instance in the series marked "Council of Defense", which contains many interesting documents about the Japanese-Americans who were to be deported to the Granada Relocation camp, or Camp Amache, as it was popularly called. It is my hope that the guide will not only provide such researchers some relief, but also to get the reader a sense for Colorado History, The Colorado State Archives and for the Governor collections in general.

Ce mémoire a été réalisé dans le cadre d'un séjour de recherche à l'Université d'État des Sciences Humaines de Russie (RGGU), Moscou. / Pour gérer les complexes documentaires générés au cours de son histoire, chaque pays crée un système archivistique constitué d’organes directeurs, de centres de conservation ainsi que d’institutions auxiliaires. Ce système interagit avec les gouvernements pour la gestion des documents des organismes d’État ainsi que des archives historiques. Il se développe différemment suivant les aléas de l’évolution politique, sociale et économique nationale. Au XXe siècle, l’Union Soviétique possédait un système archivistique original, basé sur des principes maximalistes de centralisation totale des archives. Au début des années 1990, la transition politique et économique a provoqué une série de changements pour le système archivistique russe : introduction d’une législation archivistique, apparition d’un secteur privé, etc. Plus largement, le cas russe a posé la question de l’adaptation des systèmes archivistiques face au changement historique. Ce mémoire veut donner un aperçu des changements survenus dans le système archivistique russe de 1991 à 2011, à travers une étude du contexte historique, une analyse quantitative et qualitative de l’évolution de la législation archivistique, une analyse de contenu des principaux actes de cette législation, ainsi qu’un aperçu de la situation des services d’archives non-étatiques, pour illustrer l’ampleur des changements apportés au système. Grâce à ces différentes étapes, ce mémoire rendra plus compréhensibles les processus d’adaptation du système archivistique russe, en illustrant notamment l’apparition et le contenu de la législation archivistique, ses effets et les problèmes rencontrés. Il montrera finalement la dynamique particulière établie entre l’ancien et le nouveau. / To administrate the records complexes generated during their history, countries create archival systems, composed of leading organs, conservation centers and auxiliary institutions. These systems interact with governments for the management of State’s organisms’ and historical records. They develop differently according to the circumstances of national political, social and economical evolution. During the 20th century, the Soviet Union possessed a unique archival system, based on maximalist principles of total archives’ centralisation. At the beginning of the 90’s, the political and economical transition provoked a succession of changes for the Russian archival system: introduction of an archival legislation, apparition of a private sector, etc. To a large extent, the Russian case illustrates the question of the adaptation of archival systems facing historical changes. The present thesis aims to give an overview of the changes that happened in the Russian archival system from 1991 to 2011, with a study of the historical context, a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the archival legislation’s evolution, a content analysis of the main acts of this legislation, and also an overview of the non-state archives’ situation, to illustrate the magnitude of the changes brought to this system. Thanks to these different steps, this thesis will allow a better comprehension of the adaptation’s processes of the Russian archival system, by illustrating the apparition and the content of the archival legislation, its effects and the problems encountered. It will show finally the special dynamics between the old and the new.

Pour gérer les complexes documentaires générés au cours de son histoire, chaque pays crée un système archivistique constitué d’organes directeurs, de centres de conservation ainsi que d’institutions auxiliaires. Ce système interagit avec les gouvernements pour la gestion des documents des organismes d’État ainsi que des archives historiques. Il se développe différemment suivant les aléas de l’évolution politique, sociale et économique nationale. Au XXe siècle, l’Union Soviétique possédait un système archivistique original, basé sur des principes maximalistes de centralisation totale des archives. Au début des années 1990, la transition politique et économique a provoqué une série de changements pour le système archivistique russe : introduction d’une législation archivistique, apparition d’un secteur privé, etc. Plus largement, le cas russe a posé la question de l’adaptation des systèmes archivistiques face au changement historique. Ce mémoire veut donner un aperçu des changements survenus dans le système archivistique russe de 1991 à 2011, à travers une étude du contexte historique, une analyse quantitative et qualitative de l’évolution de la législation archivistique, une analyse de contenu des principaux actes de cette législation, ainsi qu’un aperçu de la situation des services d’archives non-étatiques, pour illustrer l’ampleur des changements apportés au système. Grâce à ces différentes étapes, ce mémoire rendra plus compréhensibles les processus d’adaptation du système archivistique russe, en illustrant notamment l’apparition et le contenu de la législation archivistique, ses effets et les problèmes rencontrés. Il montrera finalement la dynamique particulière établie entre l’ancien et le nouveau. / To administrate the records complexes generated during their history, countries create archival systems, composed of leading organs, conservation centers and auxiliary institutions. These systems interact with governments for the management of State’s organisms’ and historical records. They develop differently according to the circumstances of national political, social and economical evolution. During the 20th century, the Soviet Union possessed a unique archival system, based on maximalist principles of total archives’ centralisation. At the beginning of the 90’s, the political and economical transition provoked a succession of changes for the Russian archival system: introduction of an archival legislation, apparition of a private sector, etc. To a large extent, the Russian case illustrates the question of the adaptation of archival systems facing historical changes. The present thesis aims to give an overview of the changes that happened in the Russian archival system from 1991 to 2011, with a study of the historical context, a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the archival legislation’s evolution, a content analysis of the main acts of this legislation, and also an overview of the non-state archives’ situation, to illustrate the magnitude of the changes brought to this system. Thanks to these different steps, this thesis will allow a better comprehension of the adaptation’s processes of the Russian archival system, by illustrating the apparition and the content of the archival legislation, its effects and the problems encountered. It will show finally the special dynamics between the old and the new. / Ce mémoire a été réalisé dans le cadre d'un séjour de recherche à l'Université d'État des Sciences Humaines de Russie (RGGU), Moscou.