The National Archives are committed to a policy of openness and data sharing with citizens. For this reason, they invite internet users to take an active part in the description and indexing of the archival documents they preserve.

To this end, they launched the GIROPHARES platform, an acronym for “Génération d’instruments de recherche et d’outils participatifs historiques aux Archives par recueil d’éléments structurés” (“Generation of finding aids and participatory historical tools at the Archives through the collection of structured data”).

Its ambition is to enable every citizen to contribute to improving the description and accessibility of the collections preserved by the National Archives. Volunteer contributors therefore take part in indexing, transcribing and annotating documents.

Current collaborative projects concern:

• individual records from the Miners’ Pension Fund (1860–1869);
• registration records of notaries’ clerks (1804–1860);
• nominal files of imperial decrees and orders issued by the Minister of the Emperor’s Household during the Second Empire;
• rulings of the King’s Council during the reign of Louis XV;
• Catholic clergy from 1881 to 1905;
• appeals before the Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation from 1871 to 1910.

Additional projects are regularly made available online.
Follow the latest news on the GIROPHARES platform