The Archives nationales du Québec have put in place an ongoing training program as well as tools to help public and private archives apply the laws on access and copyright. The authors propose a method of evaluation on three levels to clarify the respective responsibilities of archivists and users with regard to the applicable laws. The text defines the broad principles of the laws on personal privacy and copyright, and then shows that despite the sometimes restrictive legislation, archives can nevertheless exercise their basic function of permitting the consultation and communication of archival documents simply by using the appropriate tools and methods.

     The Civil Code of Quebec contains three articles that govern the reproduction of documents that are susceptible to be used in evidence. The author illustrates the mechanics behind these articles by constantly tracing a parallel with the former Photographic Proof od Documents Act, which served the same purposes from 1948 to 1994. After defining a few fundamental concepts, he presents the scope of the law, the identify and role of the person designated to witness the reproduction operation, the operation itself, and the declarations that accompany it. He also underlines the ties between these articles and dispositions found in other Quebec laws, espacially when he examines the issues of the elimination of reproduced documents and the preservation of the reproductions and declarations. He concludes by suggesting new possibilities that round out his report on a project he had undertaken on this subject and by presenting a bibliography of sources in French discussing the question.

     During the first century of describing its operations in its annual reports and in those of the departments to which it was successively attached, the Quebec government's archival service presented a mixed image. Although by 1886 it was already operating a nearly complete programme of archival functions, and could subsequently boast numerous proJets and achievements, it nevertheless was plagued by a chronic and flagrant lack of resources and, above all, by an administrative conflict that was played out in full public view. Consequently, it was not until the second founding of an archival service in 1920 that a more stable image emerges, based principally on acquisition and dissemination. Following nearly thirty years of relative immobility 1935-1963), the archival service began to develop as a modern archival institution which, for the first time, performed the whole range of archival functions. It was supported by new legislation, undertook the establishment of a network of regional centres, and emerged onto the international scene. Beginnlng in 1976 the image of the Archives becomes that of a national institution progressively acquiring the tools it requires to fulfill ils mission effectively. The removal of the Centre d'archives de la capitale into spacious and modern facilities; the completion of the regional network; a new, more effective archives act; the introduction of management procedures based on medium-term planning; the computerization and standardization of archival functions; and, finally, the extension of its reputation beyond the borders of Quebec, an achievement confirmed by the holding of the International Congress on Archives in Montreal in 1992, all testify to its progress.

     Revisions to an implementation of the Archives Act of Quebec are functions of the legislative and regulatory processes. Since 1983, several revisions have been made to the original act. As well, judicial texts have been adopted to facilitate its implementation.