The Cyprus Public Record Office was established in 1978 under the Public Record Law, to provide for the preservation of public records. In 1991 it was renamed βState Archives.β It is a service under the Ministry of Justice and Public Order.
The primary function of the State Archives, as a place of deposit for public records, is to receive from government departments and other bodies subject to the State Archives Law those of their records that must be permanently kept and to hold them for official use. Its further function is to hold and make these records available for research by members of the public.
The State Archives, under the overall direction of the State Archivist, is organized in two divisions: Records Administration and Records Services.
The Records Administration Division includes the services of supervising and co-coordinating arrangements for the implementation of a Records Administration Programme, i.e. for disposal, selection and transfer of records, as well as other aspects of records administration. In all government departments Departmental Record Officers (DROs) have been appointed whose main duties are to implement the Records Management Programme and to keep in touch with the State Archives.
The Records Services Division includes all the services required for the records already in the State Archives.
Cyprus Archival Collections - The quantity of records now stored in the State Archives amounts to 4,453 linear kilometers of shelving. Some of the principal archival holdings are the Governors Archives and the Secretariat Archives dating from 1878 to 1960. Other groups of records dating from before as well as after 1960 are now permanently preserved in the State Archives.
Source: Press And Information Office, Republic Of Cyprus, 2005