The Historical Archives (HAEU) is pleased to welcome a pair of visitors this month from the Pedagogical University (UP) in Krakow, Poland. What sets them apart from the rest of our summer users is the focus of their scholarship.
Professor of History Agnieszka Chłosta-Sikorska and Assistant Professor in Archival Studies and Auxiliary Sciences of History Dorota Drzewiecka arrived in Florence at the HAEU on a fact-finding mission that encompasses both historical research and archival science. They are respectively the Director and Deputy Director of the Institute of History and Archival Studies at UP.
Their visit thus far has included a series of appointments with archivists to get overviews of the HAEU’s archival systems and collections, as well as practice-oriented meetings focusing on digital records management, search instruments, and multimedia archives. They also toured the EUI Library and met with colleagues there.
‘We came for several reasons,’ explained Agnieszka, ‘and we have enjoyed many interesting meetings in a fantastic atmosphere.’
Both explain that the chance to explore the inner workings of a modern archives can inform their teaching and personal research: Agnieszka in modern and regional history, and Dorota in archival science. Learning how archives work within the changing digital landscape, for example, is a case in point. ‘New generations of students,’ they laughed, ‘have never even handled a CD.’
For Dorota, who researches intermediary archives such as the depositing archives of the various EU institutions, getting a look at the HAEU workflows, from reception of transfers to public access, has been especially useful. ‘We are grateful to the colleagues for having shared their experiences,’ she said, ‘and we enjoyed the professional exchange.’