National Archives
The National Archives of Finland is an agency responsible for preserving nationally important documents and promoting their use in research. Its tasks include overseeing public administration's archival practices, receiving and describing materials, and developing digital research processes.
Archives differ from libraries in that they preserve original and unique documents that provide firsthand information about history and society. Libraries, on the other hand, focus on secondary sources, such as books. The National Archives primarily preserves documents produced by the state, such as materials from courts and ministries, as well as significant private archives.
The materials archived in the National Archives are carefully selected through appraisal and screening. Archives may include official documents, photographs, letters, and emails, which can be in either physical or digital form. The materials in the National Archives can be searched and browsed via the Astia online service. If the material is not available digitally, it can be ordered for viewing in the research hall. The National Archives has branches across the country in the following locations:
Helsinki
Hämeenlinna
Inari
Joensuu
Jyväskylä
Mikkeli
Oulu
Turku
Vaasa
Municipal and City Archives
The decree on municipal self-government for rural areas in 1865 and for cities in 1873 separated secular and ecclesiastical administration at the local level. In rural areas, tasks concerning secular administration that had been handled by the parish meeting, led by the local priest, were transferred to the municipal meeting. In cities, the authority of the magistrate was transferred to municipal councils. However, it was not until the 1917 Municipal Law that a municipal council and its subordinate committees were made mandatory for every municipality.
Most of the materials from municipalities are kept under their own control. An exception is made for materials from areas ceded to the Soviet Union after World War II. The materials from the municipality of Petsamo are preserved in the Provincial Archives of Oulu, while the archives from other municipalities are in the Provincial Archives of Mikkeli.
Municipal archives can be queried directly from the municipalities themselves. Municipalities have also sent copies of the inventories of the materials they hold to the provincial archives. The Helsinki City Archives maintains the Sinetti archive database, which contains references to documents over 20 years old from the city’s offices, departments, committees, and boards. It also includes information on private archives preserved in the city archive.
In the units of the National Archives, 36 magistrates' archives are preserved. The oldest materials date back to the 15th century, with the most recent from the 1990s. Magistrates' archives are a diverse source of information, especially concerning administration and business life (such as trade licenses and registers of industrial establishments and artisans). They also contain lists of foreigners, marriage registers, and civil union documents.
The minutes of municipal meetings and council sessions are key sources of information. These were the highest decision-making bodies in the municipality, with the preparation of decisions initially the responsibility of the municipal board and later increasingly handled by various committees. The most valuable minutes are detailed discussion minutes, which often reveal the conflicts or other factors behind decisions. Attachments to the minutes often contain valuable information as well. The minutes of various municipal committees are important for the same reasons.
Central Archives of Business Life
The year 1974 was significant in the history of the Central Archives of Business Life. That year, a law on state subsidies for private archives was passed, resolving the biggest obstacle to the archive’s establishment: funding. The Finnish Business Archive Association began actively advocating for the creation of a central archive and conducted various studies. Several cities were considered for the archive's location, but the city of Mikkeli’s commitment and support tipped the scales, making it an easy decision to establish the business archive in the capital of South Savo.
Customer service related to the use of documents has been another central task of the Business Archives. Over the years, the archive has accumulated a vast and diverse collection of information, which can be used in various ways. The archive's website can be accessed here.
Finnish archives are characterized by their openness to everyone and, in many cases, their easy accessibility. The publication of archived materials for public use is regulated by several different laws, which must always be considered by the archive publisher. Data protection regulations define, for example, the public availability of documents containing personal information. Currently, church records, baptism registers, and marriage registers over 100 years old can be freely published, as can census records. For burial registers, the corresponding time limit is 50 years.
Finland is also a leader in digitization. The National Archives continuously engages in mass digitization, meaning that an increasing amount of archival material is available digitally, regardless of time and place.
References
Kansallisarkisto
Elinkeinoelämän keskusarkisto
Helsingin kaupunginarkisto
Nuorteva Jussi & Happonen Päivi -Suomen arkistolaitos 200 vuotta = Arkivverket i Finland 200 år