An information goldmine: The World Bank Group Archives goes online

Accessing the holdings of the World Bank Group archives

Until recently, archives users — including academics, development partners, and other researchers — had to travel miles, sometimes even across continents, to be able to access records kept in the World Bank Group Archives. But now, users will no longer have to be in Washington, D.C. to look at declassified materials. In April 2015, as part of its commitment to transparency and openness, the World Bank Group launched its Archives Holdings website. This is a state-of-the-art platform, which maximizes the public’s online access to a vast amount of original primary source material in the custody of the Archives.

Created using the Access to Memory open source software, the website facilitates a faster, more efficient, and personalized online service delivery model. The software serves as a catalog that provides basic information about the resources of the Archives, and it is equipped with user-friendly finding aids compliant with the International Standard for Archival Description. The website delivers an increasing quantity of digitized records from the early 1940s onward, making them available for the first time to public users who cannot come to the Archives reading room in Washington, D.C.

While the World Bank Group recognizes its obligation to maintain the confidentiality of certain restricted information, the Archives Holdings website offers a vast number of administrative and operational records created by different departments in the Bank. Users can now also access iconic historical records, such as President McNamara’s Nairobi Speech (1973). In addition to documents that provide a broad perspective on the Bank’s activities over seven decades, other featured materials include...