Abstract:

In this article it will tempted to outline the development of archival public education services in the western archival community from the historical perspective since the French Revolution. On the investigation of the brief history of public education activities in the Europe, North America and Australia, the authors discover there are three key historical junctions: ①the origin of public education ideology of French National Archives in the late 18th century; ②establishment of professional identity about the public education of Public Archives in the 1950s; ③digital reconstruction of the public education system of Public Archives since 1990s. Furthermore, the value of archives as cultural heritage has been acknowledged and gradually reached broad consensus by the western developed countries, which has always been the driving force behind bridging the gap between the Archives and public users. The evolution of public education function of Public Archives in the western world, which will be stimulated by the political, economic and cultural factors outside the archival community, has reflected the modern archival profession shifting from “National Model” under the organizational culture to the “Social Model” under the social culture.

Keywords: Public education, Public archives, Public services, Archival cultural value