Circulation of French archival works in Brazil

Abstract

Introduction: This article is part of a broad research project on the trajectory of the internationalization of Archivology and its institutionalization as a discipline in Brazil.
Objective: To investigate the French contributions to Brazilian Archivology, through the circulation of French archival works in Brazil.
Methodology: Qualitative-quantitative research; exploratory and descriptive, as to its objectives; bibliographic and documental, through a comparative bibliometric study of books about archives and?or Archivology, identified in the online catalog of the library of the National Archive.
Results: The analysis of 334 archival works identified as books in this catalog pointed out that most of these works were published in the 1980s, in Paris and in French. They are predominantly research instruments, books and technical publications produced by authors of French nationality or based in the country, in the case of international institutions.
Conclusions: The universe analyzed concerns recent works, on various archival issues, including from an international perspective, which may justify their circulation in Brazil. No clear reason was found for the acquisition of a significant quantity of research instruments from French institutions by the Arquivo Nacional. Although the Brazilian institution is inspired by the French, there are other types of works that deserve investment by the institution in view of the reference of French archival thought, including in contemporary times.