Today marks the 97th anniversary of the founding of the Archives nationales du Québec. When the provincial archives was founded on September 2, 1920, Pierre-Georges Roy became Quebec’s first head archivist.
The purpose of the institution was to process historical materials, more specifically public archives and the Québec government’s archives, and to collect documents pertaining to the history of Québec.
Then, in 2006, the Archives nationales du Québec and the library — the Bibliothèque nationale du Québec — were merged to form the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ)
Highlights of the history of the Quebec Archives
1920 Creation of the Archives de la province de Québec and appointment of Pierre-Georges Roy to the post of Government Archivist. At that time, the institution was under the control of the Department of the Provincial Secretary and specifically oversaw the preservation of the archives of the French Regime.
1921 The institution published its first annual report. The document, essentially of a scientific nature, was entitled Rapport de l’archiviste de la province de Québec. It would be released in this form until 1975.
1931 The Archives de la province de Québec relocated to the new Musée du Québec (today the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec).
1961 The newly created Department of Cultural Affairs (Ministère des Affaires culturelles) would see to the development of the Archives du Québec.
1971 Quebec initiated an ambitious project intended to regionalize the Archives du Québec, beginning with the opening of the Montreal archives centre. Regional centres were opened throughout the 1970s and until 1981 when the ninth one opened in Rimouski.
A more detailed history is on the BAnQ website.
