Argentina Archives and Libraries

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Argentina

Archives and Libraries

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• Archives collect and preserve original documents of organizations such as churches or governments. Libraries generally collect published sources such as books, maps, and microfilm.
• If you plan to visit a repository, contact them and ask for information about their collection, hours, services, and fees. Ask if they require you to have a reader’s ticket (a paper indicating you are a responsible researcher) to view the records, and ask how to obtain one.
• Although the records you need may be in an archive or library, the Family History Library may have printed or microfilmed copies of them.

Archives

There are different types of archives in Argentina: national, provincial, municipal or local, and church. Detailed information about archives and libraries in Argentina can be found: Argentina Research Outline (starting on page 4).

National Archives

General Archive of the Nation (Archivo General de la Nación)
Av. Leandro N. Alem 246
Buenos Aires
Telephone: (54 11) 4339-0800 int. 71037
Email: comunicacionagn@mininterior.gob.ar
Website
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Online catalogue
Digital archive
Ordering digital copies

• Records of genealogical value at national archives include: protocols of scribes (including wills, powers, titles of land, etc.), probate courts, censuses, data and titles of lands, church records, civil records, court records, military records, emigration lists, land records, colonial records, and more.
• The National Archive and its branches are open to the public.
• Copies of materials in the National Archive are also available at other major libraries and archives, including the FamilySearch Library. Some of these archives and libraries allow request for photocopies of materials they hold.
• Helpful guides to the collections of the National Archives and the provincial archives are:

• Buenos Aires, Argentina: Archivo General de la Nación, 1989. (FamilySearch Library films 1614816–1614819.)
• Indice del Archivo del Gobierno de Buenos Aires. Corespondiente al año de 1810. (Index to the holdings of the Government Archives of Buenos Aires for the year 1810). Buenos Aires, Argentina: Impreta de La Tribuna, 1860. FamilySearch Library book.

Provincial Archives

Records of genealogical value at provincial archives include: notarial records, colonial records, land records, administrative records, military, census, historical records, church records, and more. For example, the provincial archive of Cordoba has one of the largest collections of the colonial period.

• Table of Argentine State (Provincial)Archives with clickable map.

Church Archives

The dominant religion in Argentina is Catholicism. The Archdiocese of Buenos Aires was the first diocese of the Catholic church in Argentina. Church records of baptisms, marriages, and burial are usually kept by the local parish. The Diocese archives keep records pertaining to their priests and matters of church administration. It is possible to write to the local parish and request brief searches of their records. See Argentina Church Records.

There many Protestant churches in Argentina. These churches usually function independent and keep their only records. There is not usually a central repository for church records in Argentina.

Libraries

There are many public, private, and specialized libraries in Argentina. Some of the sources you will want to use are also available in these libraries in Argentina as well as in libraries in the United States and other countries. Contact these libraries and ask about their collection, hours, services, and fees. Always remember that there are many libraries that cover Latin American History and it would be wise to check your local university or public library first to see what their collection has.

Institute of Argentine and American History (Instituto de Historia Argentina y Americana)
Universidad de Buenos Aires
25 de mayo 221
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Telephone: (54 11) 4342-9710/9718 (int. 116)
E-mail: referencearavignani@gmail.com
Contact information
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Record Offices

Municipal Archives and Local Civil Offices

• In Argentina, civil records created by the local government, including birth, death, and marriage records, are kept in local municipal offices. These records are available to the public. For more information about these offices and their records, see Argentina Civil Registration.
• Each municipality has a civil registry office, one or two notaries, civil and criminal courts, and a municipal government to administer all other matters. Every municipality has jurisdiction over their own archives, separate from the province archives. These offices are comparable to county courthouses in the United States.
• You can get information and copies of the records kept at the local civil offices by writing. For help in compiling a letter in Spanish, see the Letter Writing Guide: Spanish.