Contact
-
Address
- Rúa das Casas Reais, 5, 15782Santiago de Compostela
- Phones
- 881 812 880
- Schedule
- Monday to Thursday; from 9:30 am to 2:00 pm and from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The University Historical Archive is made up of administrative and academic documentation generated by the University throughout its history and the non-university documentary collections acquired, donated or entrusted in deposit to the ÆæȤÌÚѶ·Ö·Ö²Ê.
The Archive’s function is to preserve, sort, classify and facilitate the consultation and use of the documentation.
The University Archive is divided into administrative and historical archives. As a historical archive, it is a functional support unit for research and teaching.
The existence of the ÆæȤÌÚѶ·Ö·Ö²Ê Archive began at the very moment when the institution started to generate documentation, with there being documents prior to that date contributed by the founders to guarantee its assets and economic support.
The documentation reflects the evolution, changes and transformations undergone by the University of Compostela since the dawn of the Modern Age. The concern for the care of its documents can be seen in the different constitutions, bylaws and visits that took place throughout the Old Regime, which testifies to the functional relevance and the legal and administrative interest that the Archive had throughout this period.
The break with tradition and the renewal of the University in the contemporary period took place in a turbulent 19th century as a result of political events and, above all, the different educational laws that arose during this period. In them, the figure of the Chancellor was promoted as the highest education authority in the university district. These new powers, among others, in the fields of primary and secondary education, would generate new documentary series, which are preserved today, and that make their collections an essential tool in order to study any facet of the history of education in Galicia.
On the other hand, the nature of the documentation admitted during the 20th century goes beyond the field of education. It is the result of purchases, deposits or donations that have come to complete and enrich the university collection, making the University Historical Archive what it is today: a true archive of archives, with a transversal and complementary collections, which has become a reference in very diverse fields of local and Galician history and culture.
In recent times, the possibilities and advantages that ICTs provide to cultural institutions have been progressively incorporated. In this sense, a documentary digitisation programme is being developed, which is reflected in a data bank with hundreds of thousands of data items and images of its historical collections, accessible online, and, therefore, without spatial or temporal limitations.
After occupying various facilities throughout its history — from the original ark to the precarious facilities on the 3rd floor of the current Faculty of Geography and History —, since 1990 the Archive has occupied its own building located in the historic area of the city: 2,590 m2 of space on six floors, three of which are dedicated exclusively to document storage under stringent environmental and security conditions. The building has sufficient space and facilities for internal and external users, including a conference and exhibition room with a capacity for 50 people.