The General Directorate of Archives has opened the Archive Museum, a new space dedicated to Albania’s documentary heritage. The museum aims to bring visitors, especially young people, closer to the country’s history through archival documents.

General Archives Director Auron Rrokaj said the museum differs from traditional museums because it focuses on documents. He said visitors can follow the course of human life through documents produced by society from birth to death. The museum combines physical documents with digital displays, holograms, quizzes and interactive features.

Meanwhile, Rrokaj highlighted improvements in the storage and management of archival documents over the past 13 years. He said the State Archives now has around 1,000 mobile shelves, compared with about 10 previously. The archive also stores collections in three new buildings in Shkozë, Tirana. The number of registered researchers has risen from about 1,300 to around 6,000.

Rrokaj also highlighted progress in digitisation. The share of digitised archival collections has risen from 0.1% to 25%. He said the current figure matches the target originally planned for the end of 2028. Rrokaj described the archive as a place where documents give concrete form to history, state institutions, culture and national heritage. He called the new museum “a temple of documents.”

Academy of Sciences President Skënder Gjinushi also attended the inauguration. He said the archives now follow modern organisational standards that meet current needs.

/a.p./