• Libraries of the Ecumenical Centre and the Bossey Ecumenical Institute
    ACCESS TO WCC ARCHIVES: CONDITIONS

    The WCC Archives guarantees the preservation and the diffusion of the institutional memory and the ecumenical movement. It serves as an information source to guide and assist WCC staff in planning and conducting their activities and to provide information to scholar community and public.

    The WCC Archives has the responsibility for the cataloguing, care, maintenance, management and diffusion of the archives produced by the WCC.

    The WCC Archives possesses practically all documents issued by 20th century ecumenical organisations and movements.

    Other records, such as Finances and Human Resources are decentralised and non accessible.

    The type of material stored

  • General correspondence

  • Reports

  • Minutes

  • Press cuttings

    • The main categories
  • Faith and Order, since 1910
  • Life and Work, since 1925
  • International Missionary Council (IMC), 1910-1961
  • World Alliance for Promoting International Friendship through the Churches, 1906-1948
  • World Student Christian Federation (WSCF), from the late 19th century until 1980
  • World Council of Christian Education and Sunday School Association, 1907-1971
  • German Church struggle and on relations between Geneva and the Confessing Church in Germany, 1933-1945
  • World Conferences of Christian Youth, 1939-1962
  • Joint Working group and SODEPAX
  • National & regional conferences and councils of churches
  • World Council of Churches “in process of formation”, 1938-1948
  • World Council of Churches (WCC), since 1948

    • -WCC General Secretariat
    -WCC Assemblies
    -WCC Central Committees
    -WCC Executive Committees
    -WCC divisions, departments, secretariat, units, …, since 1940

    Categories of access
  • “Unrestricted” - FREE ACCESS
  • “Strictly confidential” - INACCESSIBLE

    • The General Secretary may give a special access to the WCC Archives in order to facilitate scientific work.

    Public access to the WCC Archives may be provisionally delayed to allow for the cataloging necessary to prepare files requested for consultation.

    Categories of files

  • General correspondence - “Unrestricted”
  • Reports - “Unrestricted”
  • Minutes - “Unrestricted”
  • Press cuttings “Unrestricted”
  • Files containing personal, private, medical data - “Strictly confidential”

    • Categories of users

  • Central Committee members - free access to the “unrestricted” files
  • WCC staff - free access to the “unrestricted” files
  • Researchers & general public - free access to the “unrestricted” files

    • Research procedures

    The researchers and the general public will be asked to complete an access request form, to show proof of their identity and to state the subject of their research.

    On the request of persons outside the WCC, the archivist can carry out researches.

    Archival material do not circulate outside the Library. Photocopies can be made with the archivist permission.

    Fees and costs

  • Photocopies done by the researchers - 0.25 Swiss francs per page
  • Photocopies done by the archivist - 0.50 Swiss francs per page
  • Searches carried out by the archivist - 1st hour free of charge, 80.- Swiss francs per additional hour

    • Utilisation

    The use of the archives for academic publications purpose is authorised under the condition that the user quotes the source (WCC Archives) in his work and provide the WCC Library with one copy of the publication.

    The researcher is alone responsible for the quotations he makes.

    The scanning and microfilming of the archives is authorised under the same condition.

    Commercial use of the archives is forbidden except in accordance with specific contract conclude with the WCC.