The public archives of the State of Santa Catarina registered with the Brazilian National Council of Archives

Abstract

Objective: The main objective of this research is to discuss the relationship between public archives in Santa Catarina, Brazil registered in the Brazilian National Register of Custody Entities of Archival Collections and the number of municipalities in that State, as well as scientific research on these information units. Methodology: This is an exploratory and descriptive research, with a mixed approach and according to the selected procedures it is documental and bibliographical. The data collection took place in the aforementioned register and in the “Base de Dados Referenciais de Artigos de Periódicos em Ciência da Informação”. Results: It was found that the relationship between the public archives registered in the Brazilian National Council of Archives and the number of municipalities in the State of Santa Catarina is low, the amount obtained suggests that many cities do not have structured public archives. In addition, the national literature has studies that deal with these archives and that usually use the register to obtain information about these institutions, demonstrating the relevance of this instrument for information access. Conclusions: It is necessary that the municipalities of Santa Catarina develop and maintain their public archives, in order to respect the current legislation and meet the informational demands of society, after all, these institutions collaborate for the transparency of government actions and for the preservation of the memory and history of the population. The lack of these institutions in the cities tend to favor the loss of documentary heritage.