Dead Archives?

 Do "dead archives" really exist?

After yesterday's discussion in class and in light of Terry Eastwood's reading, I've been wondering if so-called "established" archives are truly dead. My academic interests have led me to search for documents related to the Franciscan order's involvement in the Christianization process of Central America. The vast majority of these documents are not found in the Central American Isthmus.

Many of the archives from the ancient convents of Mesoamerica, by twists of fate, have ended up in private collections of universities and foundations in the United States, while another significant portion of these records remains in the hands of the Franciscan order.

The collections held by private institutions, such as those safeguarded by the University of Texas or the Academy of American Franciscan History, are much more accessible to researchers due to their standardization, arrangement, and the advanced state of digitization of their materials.

On the other hand, as I mentioned in yesterday's class, during a visit I made a couple of years ago to the Franciscan Archive of the Celaya convent in Guanajuato, Mexico, I could confirm that the organization of their collection was complicated and not very user-friendly.

It is my understanding that the Franciscan order in Mexico is consolidating all the archives related to the colonial period into a single archive, located in the city of Zapopan, Guadalajara.

This leads me to think that there are no "dead archives." Despite the institutions that produced these collections having disappeared or transformed over time, the act of mobilizing all these archives from different geographic areas to place them in one location, where they are expected to have their final resting place, represents a new archival endeavor.

I'm curious to know how the Franciscan order is organizing all this material. Is there a particular method the order uses to organize groups, subgroups, and series? Are they considering digitizing their archive? What are their criteria for maintaining private archives?

I guess I'll have to wait until I can visit them and find out the answers for myself. However, this class is providing me with valuable tools for analyzing these archives.