Abstract
<jats:p>The monograph is the first comprehensive presentation of archivists’ participation in general congresses of historians, starting in 1880, and in general congresses of archivists since 1986, as well as their theoretical contribution to the achievements of Polish archival science. It contains an analysis of 350 papers presented and published in congress diaries. The analysis shows what problems were important for the archival community, what was interesting and aroused emotions in them, what shocked them, and what was received with enthusiasm. One can notice changes in the description and assessment of many phenomena occurring in and around archives, as well as in the perception of archives and archival science, and also reactions to new laws or technological innovations. The presented texts allow us to reconstruct the development of original Polish archival thought and the history of the contemporary archival field with its various aspects. Each text can be an inspiration for undertaking further scientific and archival research.</jats:p>