Archives and Archival Resources

National archives are a good place to start when exploring archival possibilities in Latin America. This is a sampling - not a complete list - of national archives. As these examples show, each archive is organized differently and follows different procedures. Some provide access to digitized content and some do not. Archives, in contrast to libraries, typically hold official documentation, produced by the state or political authorities. 

National libraries are another good starting point for archival research. This is a sampling - not a complete list - of national libraries. The holdings of national libraries varies significantly from country to country, as do access policies. Some provide digitized content and some do not. National libraries usually hold content of national interest, but not necessarily produced by state authorities. 

Some archdioceses, dioceses, and parishes hold historical archives and are open for research. Some archives hold documentation produced by religious orders. Catalogs and finding aids for religious archives and collections vary greatly. This section includes a sampling of resources related to religious archives and documentation.