• Acquisition of archives from public authorities and private archives
• Storage and preservation of our archival heritage
• Making our archival heritage accessible for research
• Public service
• Organisation of associated activities aimed at reaching a wider public
• Academic research
  

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We take care of the physical preservation of documents that are unique.
The physical preservation of archives entrusted to the State Archives is one of our essential tasks. The definitive conservation of archival materials requires storage in premises that are specially equipped for this purpose, fulfilling strict requirements in terms of temperature, air humidity and safety in terms of fire or floods. The documents are filed in acid-free folders or box files, which include the necessary information for identification. In order to assist the archives producers, the State Archives are able to provide them with acid-free box files at very low prices. Any archives that have deteriorated over a period of time must be restored and rebound. In order to avoid further damage due to archives being consulted frequently, any documents at risk (registry office and parish registers, maps, plans and drawings; old charters on parchment) are transferred to another medium, which is usually microfilm. Special precautions will have to be introduced in the very near future for the preservation of data banks that can be read by machine, which are due to be transferred to the State Archives.
For more information: Read an article by Eddy Put about "Physical preservation & enterprise culture".

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We publish inventories, search guides and provide researchers with databases, which now enable surname searches.
Providing search guides is primarily the responsibility of the authority that produced the original archive, which is not permitted to deposit its archives if they are not classified and accompanied by an inventory.
Nevertheless, the State Archives still receive an immense quantity of archives that are scarcely suitable for research. One of the essential tasks of the academic staff is to make these archives accessible. The work involved in preparing archives for research leads to the production of different types of search tools. This is where search landmarks and instructions for use can be found, together with brochures that explain how to work with specific archive groups or document types. Special mention should be made of the group and collection guides, which provide concise descriptions of everything that is stored in an archives deposit. Finally, the inventories place the articles within a group in an order, according to academic methods, and describe the form/content of each group. The academic basis of this availability for quality research is the historical institution study, which shows how these institutions have functioned in the past, their skills and activities and the resulting production of archives. All of these academic tools (search landmarks, instructions for use, group and collection guides, inventories, works on institutional history) should enable the researcher to find the information that he is seeking within a reasonable timescale. The process of preparing archives for research makes increasing use of information technology. The preparation of the huge volume of archives groups (200,000 linear metres or 200 km) for research is the fundamental task of the State Archives, which can only be adequately fulfilled with the systematic computerisation of its working methods.

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Acquiring and preserving archives and making them accessible for research - these activities only become meaningful when the archives are consulted in our reading rooms. According to the 1955 Archives Law, in theory, all documents that are more than 100 years old and deposited at the State Archives by a public authority are public archives. However, all steps are taken to guarantee that more recent archives are also consulted. Moreover, the State Archives must endeavour to respect the confidentiality of all information included in the public and private archives, with which it is entrusted.
As well as the protection of privacy, consultation must sometimes also be limited to avoid the physical deterioration of the document. As soon as a consultation copy is available (usually on microfilm), the original is no longer available. In any case, consultation is refused if this could lead to irreparable damage to the requested document. Archives users can be divided into a number of very diverse categories.
Each user needs to be approached differently - whether they are civil servants looking for a file previously handled by their department, persons or public authorities wishing to protect their rights, citizens exercising their right of unrestricted access to administrative documents, lay persons interested in tracing their roots, academic researchers studying a specific aspect of social life in bygone times.
The groups and collections can be consulted in the reading rooms of the “Archives Générales du Royaume” (National Archives of Belgium) (Brussels) and the “Archives de l'État dans les Provinces” (State Archives in the Provinces). It is possible to scan any documents that are not in risk of becoming damaged in the process.
In order to facilitate academic research, the State Archives loans documents to other archive services and university libraries.
As far as possible, we provide help and assistance to assist you with your research.
Moreover, the State Archives have a very pro-active publication policy. Every year the establishment publish countless inventories, catalogues and studies focusing on archives or the history of institutions.

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The State Archives aim to make the general public aware of their archival heritage by means of themed exhibitions where archives documents are presented in a wide-ranging social and cultural context. These events are accompanied by the publication of a catalogue, academic paper or brochure.
The State Archives hold regular open days for the general public, organise study days for researchers and contribute to heritage days.

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As an academic institution, the State Archives cannot fail to carry out their own specialist academic activity. “Archivism” refers to the preservation and history of the institutions that have produced archives. It is not possible to complete the above-mentioned tasks in an appropriate manner (acquisition, preservation, making archives accessible for research and communication) without this activity being based on on-going academic research.
A large proportion of these academic activities are coordinated in close partnership with the universities.
See the overview of completed and on-going projects under 'projects'.

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