Volkotrub O. "The American Archivist" journal as the source of study of the history of archival affairs in USA (1938-2008).

The thesis researches the preconditions of establishment and activity of the Society of American Archivists and its publishing body "The American Archivist" journal on the basis of a wide range of sources. It was found that the occurrence of SAA in 1936 was a logical consequence of the intensive development of archives, active discussions and rapid formation of public opinion on the need for self-organization of archives employees and creating such a national coordinating agency that would have taken over the production of the main archival principles and their implementation and solve pressing problems in the development of archival economy; accumulated and summarized useful information; contributed to the discussion of current issues of archival theory and practice and sharing experience; encouraged experimentation, researched and searched for "common denominator" in archival practice and ideology archival procedures; encouraged the productive learning in many fields of knowledge. One of the important activities of SAA was the publication of a professional journal "AA", the first issue of which was published in January 1938. Journal, which has become a platform for discussion of relevant issues of archival field, presents the results of current research and opinions on theoretical and practical development of archives in United States and abroad by publishing articles of leading experts, researchers, analytical and forecasting materials, reviews of important archival publications and reviews new professional literature, websites and exhibitions. About the relevance and rapid response to the current challenges in archival field indicates the subject of articles published in "AA" in recent years: digitalization of information and problems of preserving of digital heritage; the electronic documents and their storage in the archives; appraisal, description and cataloging of archival documents in conditions of archives informatization; providing archive services and expanding of their range; processes of preservation and management of information; photographic and visual means of preserving information; ways to prevent natural disasters and force majeure; intellectual property and copyrights, authenticity of documents, etc. It was determined that the journal publications are rich source of information for the study of course and results of current researches in archival field and opinions and views of experts regarding the theoretical and practical development of archives in the United States and abroad. The formation and development of the journal took place progressively, according to the requirements of the time and the state of archival field in the United States. The journal has one of the highest ratings among professional scientific journals in the world. It was made the concurrent production of printed and electronic versions of "AA", the transfer of issues to an electronic version beginning with the first one. Presented in the journal publications are essential for modern archival researches worldwide. For seven and a half decades of its activity journal made a significant contribution to the development of modern archival affairs, not only in US but all around the world, as well as expanding of the range of sources of study of the archival affairs in the United States. The thesis has applications: the bibliography of publications of the journal for 1938-2008 years (19 units, 1917 bibliographic descriptions); the ratio of the main topics of papers in the journal for 1938-2008 years; list of SAA presidents; list of "AA" editors.