Consulting the General Archive of Puerto Rico

The General Archive’s mission is to gather, hold, conserve and disseminate Puerto Rico’s documentary historical heritage, understood as the body of permanently valuable documents forming part of the country’s cultural heritage and serving as a source for research into historical, social, economic, political, cultural and legal matters. The documents come from government agencies, public corporations, municipalities and private collections; the Archive also evaluates and considers any private collection meeting the criteria of documentary historical heritage. It is organized into specialized units: the Study and Reference Room, covering documents, maps, newspapers and notarial protocols; the Photography Archive, with 150,000 records among photographs, negatives, slides and a special postcard collection; the Music and Sound Archive, with some 15,000 musical pieces by more than 700 composers and 10,000 recordings; and the Moving Images Archive, with some 4,000 film titles and 2,000 videotapes, including the DIVEDCO Collection with 112 titles.

The page publishes no eligibility requirements: it describes the services offered to the community and the procedure for arranging a visit. What does condition the service is the subject matter. If the document you are after belongs to Ponce, San Germán, Mayagüez, Caguas or Carolina, those municipalities keep their documents in their own towns by agreement with the municipal authorities, so they will not be at the General Archive. And the consultation is arranged with the specialized unit that holds the type of material you want, not with the Archive in general.

• Arranging an appointment with the specialized unit holding the material: consultations at the General Archive are done through appointments.Verified against the official source
• Giving your name, phone and email as the person requesting the service, for any of the three consultation types.Verified against the official source
• For fonds and collections: the provenance information — fonds, series, subseries — the title of what you want to consult, bundle, box, file, pages and any other information that helps identify the documents.Verified against the official source
• For a judicial document: the Court Room, the Judicial District, the municipality, the year of the case, the file number, the case type — divorce, expropriation, adoption, testamentary execution — and the parties involved.Verified against the official source
• For notarial protocols: the notary’s name, the deed number, the deed date, the act, the names of the grantors and the municipality.Verified against the official source

Information pending verification.

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   Step 1: Search the Finding Aids first

   The Archive asks you to familiarize yourself with its documents before writing. Its website has a “Finding Aids” section where you can identify whether the inventory, catalogue or guide to the fonds or collection you want is available digitally. They are organized by specialized unit and then alphabetically. You can read the PDF online or download it, and search inside it with Ctrl + F. Arriving at the email knowing the name of the fonds completely changes the answer you get.

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   Step 2: Identify which unit holds your material

   The Archive is organized into specialized units and you have to write to the right one. The Study and Reference Room covers documents, maps, newspapers and notarial protocols: referencia.archivo@icp.pr.gov, staffed by Pedro Roig, Juan Román, Orlando Abreu and José Charón. The Moving Images Archive: agpr_aim@icp.pr.gov, Marisel Flores. The Photography Archive: agpr_fotografia@icp.pr.gov, María Isabel Rodríguez. The Music and Sound Archive: agpr_musica@icp.pr.gov, Marcos Nieves.

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   Step 3: Write the email with the details they ask for

   All three need your name, phone and email. After that it varies by material. For a fonds or collection: provenance information — fonds, series, subseries — the title of what you want, bundle, box, file, pages and any other detail helping to identify the documents. For a judicial document: Court Room, Judicial District, municipality, year of the case, file number, case type — divorce, expropriation, adoption, testamentary execution — and the parties involved. For a notarial protocol: the notary’s name, deed number, deed date, the act, the names of the grantors and the municipality.

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   Step 4: Wait for the appointment confirmation

   The unit will give you guidance on availability and recommendations to make the in-person consultation or the digital delivery of material easier. If the service can be provided by appointment, the unit’s staff will arrange it and the confirmation will reach you by email. Do not show up without that email: consultations are conducted through appointments with the specialized units.

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   Step 5: Five municipalities are not here

   Worth knowing before you write. The General Archive evaluates and receives public documentation from roughly 130 government agencies and 73 municipalities, but Ponce, San Germán, Mayagüez, Caguas and Carolina are not included: by agreements with the municipal authorities, those five keep their documents in their own towns. If what you want is municipal and from one of them, you have to go to the municipality.

By email to the corresponding specialized unit: referencia.archivo@icp.pr.gov for documents, maps, newspapers and notarial protocols; agpr_aim@icp.pr.gov for moving images; agpr_fotografia@icp.pr.gov for photography; agpr_musica@icp.pr.gov for music and sound. The Puerto Rican Institute of Culture answers at 787-724-0700 and its mailing address is Apartado 9024184, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00902-4184. The Archive also publishes Digital Collections on its page.

• Showing up without an appointment: consultations are conducted through appointments with the specialized units.
• Writing to the Archive in general rather than to the unit holding the material.
• Sending the email without the requester’s name, phone and email.
• Asking for a judicial document without the Room, Judicial District, municipality, year or case type.
• Asking for a notarial protocol without the notary’s name or the deed number and date.
• Looking for documents from Ponce, San Germán, Mayagüez, Caguas or Carolina, which those municipalities keep.
• Not checking the Finding Aids first, where many inventories and catalogues are already digital.
• Confusing the General Archive with the Demographic Registry for birth or death certificates.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña (ICP)

  ICP

  www.icp.pr.gov