The Department of Document and Information Use was established on August 17, 1979.
According to the Department Regulations, its main tasks are:
- defining the main directions and analyzing the archive’s work on document use, preparing proposals for their improvement;
- organizing and implementing work on document use for the benefit of society, ensuring the rights and legitimate interests of citizens;
- studying the best domestic and foreign experience in the field of document use, introducing it into the practice of the department, archive;
- regulatory and methodological support for work on document use.
In accordance with the assigned tasks, the Department:
- prepares proposals for draft programs, long-term and current plans for the archive’s work in specific areas of the department, ensures their implementation, prepares reports on their implementation, participates in the development and discussion of theoretical and methodological issues of the scientific use of archival documents;
- prepares proposals on the main areas and topics of scientific and methodological work of the archive in the field of using and publishing documents: prepares thematic publications, takes part in the development of research topics and methodological manuals in individual areas of the department’s activities, implements their results in the practice of the department and archive;
- informs organizations interested in retrospective information about archival documents on current topics through the media. Identifies documents at the request of government agencies, the Department of Archives and Records Management of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus, etc.;
- organizes the work of the archive’s reading room, provides services to researchers in the reading room in accordance with the established procedure. Organizes document exhibitions, conducts tours of the archive, lectures, and meetings with the public;
- studies the potential needs of society for retrospective information, advertises the work and services performed on archival documents in order to expand contract work and paid services;
- Fulfills thematic and genealogical inquiries of state, public institutions, enterprises and non-state institutions, citizens of the Republic of Belarus, foreign organizations and citizens on a contractual basis and in accordance with the price list and in the established manner issues their certificates, copies and extracts from documents;
- Fulfills biographical inquiries received from residents of the republic and foreign citizens. Reception of citizens;
- Performs contractual work in the established manner, provides paid services for the use of documents. Prepares projects of websites for the use of archival documents, including the use of archival information for commercial purposes, maintains their records;
- Prepares for publication, independently or jointly with other archival and scientific institutions, reference books on the composition and content of archival documents, documentary publications on the profile of the archive in accordance with the objectives of cultural and educational work, the needs of the development of the Belarusian language. science and culture, articles, essays, collections, etc. materials for periodicals;
- Organizes the work of the scientific reference library and the reference and information fund of the archive;
- ensures the safety of documents during their use, participates in the creation of research databases of documents based on information and organizes access to them;
- keeps records of documents on the use and analyzes the efficiency of using archival documents, prepares proposals for its improvement;
- conducts an economic analysis of the department’s work, analyzes the level of compliance with production standards in the department, prepares proposals based on the results of the analysis;
- develops specific labor standards based on standard time and output standards for the main types of work;
- studies and uses domestic and foreign experience in the field of scientific use of archival documents and implements measures to introduce scientific developments into practice;
- organizes the preparation and holding of meetings, seminars in the specialized areas of the department, participates in the work of scientific and scientific-practical conferences, meetings, seminars;
- participates in the work of the Academic Council, Directorate, Expert and Methodological Commission, submits for consideration issues of archival affairs development in specific areas of the department, prepares materials for discussion, monitors the implementation of decisions made.
Head of Department: