The German registry: The evolution of a recordkeeping model

The German registry system is unique in its approach to records management. By way of better understanding this approach, the historical development of this registry is portrayed in its characteristic phases: first the adoption of the practice of using registers in the Middle Ages; second the transposition of this practice into a complete recordkeeping system in the Prussian administrations of the 18th and 19th centuries; third the attempt to streamline this system in the early 20th century; and fourth the nature of the registry in modern German administrations, and in particular how it has adapted to the use of electronic records. Apart from the historical presentation, however, this study also aims to highlight central concepts of the German registry, including entries, action files, and the idea of registry itself being applied to the entire activity of keeping records. Finally, it is suggested that these concepts can provide new insights into various areas of archives as well as into current recordkeeping problems. This article is a completely revised version of the thesis which I submitted in 1997 (under the title “The German Registratur”) for the Master of Archival Studies degree at the School of Library, Archival and Information Studies, University of British Columbia. My thanks to Angelika Menne-Haritz and Wendy Duff for their comments during the writing of this revision.