Objectives

The regional archives have specific responsibilities towards the territory where they are inserted, aiming the promotion of knowledge, the access to archival heritage and the guarantee of the State and citizens rights, namely when using the documents in the administrative activity.

Within the scope of these objectives Arquivo Distrital do Porto incorporates and appraises documentation emanating from civil register, notaries public, courts and public services that ceased activity – and from other institutions holding records of undeniable value – and provides consulting and technical support to archival institutions and to other entities.
This intervention concentrated on the archival materials that have earned the right to be preserved forever, promotes their incorporation, encourages donations and deposit of archives, which after being duly organized and described, give the user the possibility to identify what he is looking for and to access the information.



Who we are

What is an archival institution? What are its objectives? Its purposes? What methods are used? What persons and institutions does it serve? What is its role in society?
Forget about the traditional storage concepts or mere deposit more or less organized of old documents, or the conventional vision that the historical archive should uniquely be focused on the past.
An Archive should operate in the society where it is inserted as a living and participating entity.
It should manage the memory and the present in an integrated manner, inasmuch as one is always the result of the other.
It should look at the archival documents as a continuous operation – since production until elimination/preservation – and in the perspective of the archival document definition as adopted by the International Council on Archives.

... «Recorded information in any form or medium, created or received and maintained, by an organization or person in the transaction of business or the conduct of affairs».



Our vision

To promote Arquivo Distrital do Porto as a point of reference amongst the public services and products provided in a national context.



Our objectives

It is our purpose to develop these objectives up to the limit by means of practices and innovating procedures that we continuously seek to improve within our operating areas.

Acquisition and accrual of archival heritage
Appraisal and access to information
Consulting and technical support to public and private entities
Cooperation and development
Cultural and education extension