Custody, provenance and meaning in the context of state intelligence records: the case of las carpetas in Puerto Rico

IF 1.4 Q2 INFORMATION SCIENCE & LIBRARY SCIENCE

ARCHIVAL SCIENCE Pub Date : 2024-08-27 DOI:10.1007/s10502-024-09454-w

Joel A. Blanco-Rivera

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Abstract

During the decades from the 1960s to the late 1980s, the Intelligence Division of the Police of Puerto Rico secretly compiled files on individuals who supported the independence of this Caribbean archipelago from the USA. The public knowledge of the existence of these files, known in Puerto Rico as las carpetas, in 1987 prompted a judicial process that ended in 1992 with a decision that opened a period where individuals were able to claim and receive their files, without any redactions, instead of transferring the records to an archival institution. The files that were not claimed stayed under the custody of the judicial branch until 2003, when after a public debate about its disposition, the records were transferred to the Archivo General de Puerto Rico. In addition, various individuals donated their files to the University of Puerto Rico. The particularity of this case has led to a situation where records from the same provenance, using the classical definition of the concept, are dispersed in various archival institutions and in the homes of hundreds of Puerto Ricans. This paper will use the case of las carpetas, and its particularities regarding custody, to analyze contemporary re-interpretations of provenance in the context of state intelligence records.

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国家情报记录的保管、来源和意义：波多黎各的 las carpetas 案例

从 20 世纪 60 年代到 80 年代末的几十年间，波多黎各警察局情报处秘密编制了支持这个加勒比群岛从美国独立的个人档案。1987 年，公众知道了这些在波多黎各被称为 las carpetas 的档案的存在，这促使司法程序于 1992 年以一项裁决结束，该裁决开启了一个时期，个人可以在不做任何删节的情况下认领和接收他们的档案，而不是将记录移交给档案机构。未被认领的档案一直由司法部门保管，直到 2003 年，在就其处置问题进行公开辩论后，这些档案才移交给波多黎各档案总署。此外，一些个人将其档案捐赠给了波多黎各大学。由于这一案例的特殊性，按照这一概念的经典定义，同一来源的记录分散在不同的档案机构和数百名波多黎各人的家中。本文将利用 las carpetas 案及其在保管方面的特殊性，分析当代在国家情报档案方面对来源的重新解释。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

ARCHIVAL SCIENCE INFORMATION SCIENCE & LIBRARY SCIENCE-

CiteScore

2.70

自引率

18.20%

发文量

期刊介绍： Archival Science promotes the development of archival science as an autonomous scientific discipline. The journal covers all aspects of archival science theory, methodology, and practice. Moreover, it investigates different cultural approaches to creation, management and provision of access to archives, records, and data. It also seeks to promote the exchange and comparison of concepts, views and attitudes related to recordkeeping issues around the world.Archival Science''s approach is integrated, interdisciplinary, and intercultural. Its scope encompasses the entire field of recorded process-related information, analyzed in terms of form, structure, and context. To meet its objectives, the journal draws from scientific disciplines that deal with the function of records and the way they are created, preserved, and retrieved; the context in which information is generated, managed, and used; and the social and cultural environment of records creation at different times and places.Covers all aspects of archival science theory, methodology, and practiceInvestigates different cultural approaches to creation, management and provision of access to archives, records, and dataPromotes the exchange and comparison of concepts, views, and attitudes related to recordkeeping issues around the worldAddresses the entire field of recorded process-related information, analyzed in terms of form, structure, and context