The National Archives of Thailand (NAT) ( th, สำนักหอจดหมายเหตุแห่งชาติ; ) is a Thai government agency under the
Fine Arts Department
The Fine Arts Department ( th, กรมศิลปากร, ) is a government department of Thailand, under the Ministry of Culture. Its mission is managing the country's cultural heritage.
History
The department was originally established ...
of the
Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to:
*Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania)
* Ministry of Culture (Algeria)
*Ministry of Culture (Argentina)
*Minister for the Arts (Australia)
*Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)
* Ministry of ...
. It was established in 1916 (B.E.2459) as a section of the
National Library of Thailand
The National Library of Thailand ( th, หอสมุดแห่งชาติ) is the legal depositary and copyright library for Thailand. It was officially established on 12 October 1905, after the merger of the three existing royal librar ...
. It officially became the National Archives of Thailand on 18 August 1952.
The NAT employs 131 persons and has an annual budget of 80 million baht.
It has satellite facilities in
Phayao
Phayao () is a city (''thesaban mueang'') in northern Thailand, capital of Phayao Province. For administrative purposes the city is divided into 15 sub-districts (''tambons''), which are further subdivided into 172 administrative villages.
The t ...
and
Ubon Ratchathani Provinces. the NAT Director is Ms Nanthaka Pollachai.
Mission
The National Archives is responsible for collecting and preserving public and other historical records and make them available to the public. It also advises government agencies on records management and records preservation.
As a general rule, government records are transferred to the National Archives when they are 30 years old under the Prime Minister's Regulation on Records Keeping issued in 1983 (B.E.2526 and second and additional version, B.E.2548). The archive collects about seven percent of all government documents (2018).
Archivists appraise the records to ascertain which are of historical value for permanent preservation. Records of value donated by individuals interested in their preservation are retained as archival collections.
Collection
The National Archives' collection consists of over one million historical government and public records, including paper and palm leaf documents, photographs, posters, maps, videos tapes, and sound recordings dating from the reign of King Rama IV to the present.
[
As of 30 September 2011, the National Archives had 10,285 written documents, 24,508 wet plate ]collodion
Collodion is a flammable, syrupy solution of nitrocellulose in ether and alcohol. There are two basic types: flexible and non-flexible. The flexible type is often used as a surgical dressing or to hold dressings in place. When painted on the skin, ...
s, 444,009 photos, 808,693 films, 20,062 maps and plans, 2,696 posters, 4,472 calendars, 4,467 audio records, 3,941 visual records, 9,503 microfilms, 734 compact discs, 34 digital visual records, 43,628 bound volumes, government documents and rare books, 1,867 meeting minutes, memos and incident records and 677,269 important news clippings. The oldest document in the collection is a paper document dating to the reign of King Rama IV
Mongkut ( th, มงกุฏ; 18 October 18041 October 1868) was the fourth monarch of Siam (Thailand) under the House of Chakri, titled Rama IV. He ruled from 1851 to 1868. His full title in Thai was ''Phra Bat Somdet Phra Menthora Ramathibo ...
(1851-1868).
Researcher access
Foreign researchers are permitted to use the archives after completion of a researcher registration form together with a letter of permission obtained from the National Research Council of Thailand.
See also
* List of national archives
National archives are central archives maintained by countries. This article contains a list of national archives.
Among its more important tasks are to ensure the accessibility and preservation of the information produced by governments, both ...
External links
Official website of the National Archives of Thailand
References
{{authority control
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
Archives in Thailand
Sub-departmental government bodies of Thailand
Fine Arts Department (Thailand)