Donate archive material

Dear owners,

The State Archives is continuously aiming to enrich its collections with new private and family archives that document the lives and deeds of individuals who have left a lasting legacy in the collective memory of the Macedonian people. Whether these individuals, families or organisations operated within the state or in the diaspora, it is important to preserve their legacy as a testament to our past and future. Culture, politics, art, science and the non-governmental sector are just some of the areas in which many successful individuals have worked.

We offer creators and owners, as well as their successors, the opportunity to preserve, process and make their archival material available to researchers in accordance with the Law on Archival Material in our institution. Archival material includes personal documents, photographs, memoirs, notes, manuscripts, correspondence and so on, which can be written, drawn, printed, photographed, filmed or otherwise recorded, including electronically.

We invite all interested citizens to donate archival materials to the State Archives, and further information can be obtained via the following contacts:

• Directly at the State Archives (central office) and its regional offices in Tetovo, Ohrid, Bitola, Prilep, Strumica, Stip and Kumanovo (addresses and telephone numbers are listed in the contacts section of the website)
• or by email at prezemanje@arhiv.gov.mk.
• For more information, please contact Dr Branislav Svetozarevikj (local 133) or Marjan Gijovski (local 121).

 

Office and archive work

The term 'office work' comes from the Latin word 'canceli', meaning a partitioned room or office in which officials perform basic auxiliary tasks.

Office work is an auxiliary activity consisting of tasks performed in the offices of state bodies, enterprises, and other institutions and legal entities that contribute to the performance of their basic activities. However, even though office work is an auxiliary activity, it is impossible to imagine the performance of the basic activity of any authority or institution without it.

In a more specific sense, office work includes receiving, reviewing, arranging and delivering items in the processing of work, and then sending resolved items, archiving them and keeping them.

To perform their tasks efficiently, office workers must adhere to the following principles:

• The principle of uniqueness: office work must be performed uniquely;
• The principle of accuracy: office work must be performed on the basis of accurate facts and circumstances, established accurately and reliably;
• The principle of expediency: office work must be performed successfully and on time;
• The principle of uniformity: office work must be performed simply and uniformly;
• The principle of transparency: office work must be performed in a certain order to ensure that all cases are performed on time and to a high standard;
• The principle of simplicity and economy: things in the organisation or institution must be done simply, using fewer resources in terms of money, mental and physical energy, and time.

To better understand the processes of office and archival work, the following basic definitions must be explained:

• An act is a written text that initiates, supplements, modifies, terminates or concludes an official action.
• An attachment is a written or recorded composition (e.g. a document, chart, table, drawing, audiovisual material or computerised material) or physical object that supplements, explains or proves the content of an act.
• A subject is a set of acts and annexes that are kept under the same basic number, refer to the same issue or task and represent a single whole.
• A file is a set of cases that refer to the same matter and legal or natural person.
• Documentary material comprises all original and reproduced material (e.g. written, drawn, printed, photographed, phonographed, computerised, legible or typewritten) and books, files and other records of such material created by state bodies, enterprises, courts and local self-government units. , and other legal entities.
• Archival material comprises selected original and reproduced documentary material of lasting value relevant to the state, science, culture and other needs, which was created by the holder.
• A folder is a set of items or files that, once the procedure is complete, are stored in the same covers.
• An archive box is a standardised means of storing and protecting archival material.
• A registry is a working unit within state bodies, enterprises, and other legal entities in which office work is performed, including receiving, opening, reviewing, scheduling, and filing acts; submitting acts for work; administrative and technical processing; sending acts; divorces; and handing completed acts from the registry office to the archive.
• The archive is an integral part of the library where completed acts and objects are kept. In other words, it is where archive material is stored until it is handed over, while documentary material is destroyed.

Download: Tariff for fees charged for providing office and archival services to workers (2015).