Author: Jeldrik Schottke
General information
Address:
Vienna International Centre, International Atomic Energy Agency, Division of General Services; Archives and Records Management Section, Archives Unit
Wagramer Straße 5
PO Box 100
Website: www.iaea.org/resources/archives
Contact: https://www.iaea.org/resources/archives/access/visits/contact
Brief history
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), with its headquarters in Vienna, is one of the landmark international organisations based in the city, where its offices have been located as part of the larger Vienna International Centre (VIC) complex since 1957. Though the archive of the IAEA does not yet have an official description based on the International Standard for Describing Institutions with Archival Holdings (ISDIAH), its history and development can be traced in several sources created by the institution itself. Furthermore, the UNESCO Guides to the Archives of International Organisations gives crucial insights on the IAEA and its archive, though it cannot be regarded as up to date. The archive is mentioned for the first time in the Host Agreement of 1959 between the UN and the Republic of Austria, under Article I/Section 1/n.: “The expression ‘archives of the IAEA’ includes records and correspondence, documents, manuscripts, still and moving pictures, films and sound recordings belonging to or held by the IAEA”. Furthermore, under Article VIII/Section 21, a confidence clause is expressed: “The archives of the IAEA shall be inviolable wherever located”.
The so-called “Pilot Project” from 1965 was the starting point for what would become the comprehensive Records and Archives Management within the IAEA, and thus the archive. In general, the IAEA Archive is part of the Archives and Records Management Section, which is itself part of the Division of General Services within the Department of Management. After residing for over twenty years in the temporary headquarters of the IAEA, the Grand Hotel next to the Vienna State Opera, the archive moved, together with the organisation, into the new premises in the Vienna International Centre, which opened in 1979. With the relocation, the archive itself went through a series of modernisations and reforms in its new offices and storage space located on the fourth floor of the IAEA, where it is still based today. In particular, the reforms attempted to take account of the changing structure of staff and the internal organisation of the IAEA, though not all of them were successful. The archive therefore has a reciprocal relationship with its parent organisation, and their development is closely linked.
Holdings
The holdings of the IAEA archive include materials produced by the IAEA as well as documents from other organisations, such as the IAEA Preparatory Commission and the Conference of the Statute of 1956.
The archives’ largest sub-fond is the Central Registry records (1957–1979/1985), covering about 720 shelf metres and documenting all major IAEA functions.
The Coordinated Records Management System (CRMS) archives (1979/1985–2007) contain over 900,000 digitised documents and 20 shelf metres of microfilms, containing official correspondence, but classified materials are of course kept separately elsewhere.
Departmental Records, part 1 (1956–1979/1985) includes organisational records of the early period of the IAEA, gifts to Directors General, and programme-related materials.
Departmental records, part 2 (1957/1979–present) comprises around 6,000 shelf metres and provide insights into all IAEA business and scientific activities.
The audio-visual collection (1946–2009) contains tapes, photographs and digitised content, highlighting both internal IAEA work and historic events.
The Publications Sub-fond (1958–present) includes over 10,000 scientific and technical publications in print and digital formats. The Records of Policy-Making Organs and Legal Instruments (1956–present) consist of around 330 shelf metres, including foundational agreements, official records of the Board of Governors, General Conferences and legal documents.
Finally, there are various other collections (1919/1957–present) of diverse materials, such as architectural plans, press releases and uranium reports.
Structure and access
The archival holdings of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) contain approximately 10,000 shelf metres of records in various media formats. The IAEA Archives follow a hierarchical structure of sub-fonds, series, records and individual items. Due to evolving record management systems and the above-mentioned reforms, the structure of the archive is not strictly chronological.
Access to the VIC building and thus the IAEA Archive is restricted and thus carefully regulated. This means that visits must be arranged in advance. All visitors are required to complete security screening and formal registration and must present an identification document. Researchers who want to consult the archives must provide additional materials, like a completed research form, a signed reading room protocol and a letter of support. These documents must be submitted at least one month before the planned visit since all requested archival sources go through a security check before being handed over to the researcher.
The digital catalogue of the IAEA Archives, in PDF format, describes each collection’s contents, extent, media type and accessibility. In addition, there are online search masks which offer access to a range of historical and institutional documents. Among these are the General Conference Archives, which contain digital versions of official records, agendas and reports from the IAEA’s annual General Conferences. Also available are the Information Circulars (INFCIRCs), publicly accessible documents that contain key information of Member States, including agreements, policy updates and official reports. In addition, the archives provide digital access to treaties, such as safeguards agreements and protocols concluded between the IAEA and its Member States. Finally, the IAEA Bulletin, the agency’s own publication format, is available online and features articles, news and updates on nuclear applications for peaceful purposes, as well as topics related to nuclear safety, security and policy.
Connected collections
Other international organisations based in Vienna that possess archives are the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO). Both have a much more restrictive access policy than the IAEA Archive. However, there are also other archives connected to the IAEA in Vienna. For example, the Austrian National Archive is home to a wide range of documents on nuclear governance in general, as well as Austria’s relationship with the organisation itself. Moreover, a significant number of permanent representations and embassies are based in Vienna, each of them maintaining their own internal archives, though public access may be very difficult. Finally, the traces and primary sources that can be found on nuclear governance and the IAEA are located not only in Vienna but across the world in ministries and other national and regional archives. Depending on the subject under investigation, it may be helpful to consult the catalogues of relevant locations and institutions outside of Vienna.
What makes this collection global?
The IAEA archive, with its international character, covers a broad spectrum of topics within the realm of global history, particularly during the 20th and 21st centuries. As the official archive, it contains a wide range of documents and sources on nuclear and diplomatic history. Not only can the documents and sources be used in those fields, but also for investigations in security and legal studies, among others. Nevertheless, there are limitations inherent to the character and mission of the IAEA and its archive. The documents primarily comprise information regarding the institutional processes, events, personnel and activities. Furthermore, the archive is inherently one-sided: it contains only a limited number of documents and sources from the counterpart organisations with which the IAEA is working together on projects and missions. This is because these counterpart organisations are, in most cases, nation-states that have their own archival missions. Lastly, the archive has very strict access rules to documents. Only de-classified and documents checked by the archive team are open to the public.
The archival sources in the IAEA are particularly valuable for studying the history of nuclear energy and technology in that they document the global development and regulation of nuclear power since the 1950s.
A key area of focus is non-proliferation and safeguards, with extensive documentation on the creation and implementation of safeguards agreements and the broader nuclear non-proliferation regime. The archive also contains important resources on nuclear safety and security, including IAEA safety standards, records on incidents, and the development of international nuclear security policies. In the field of technical cooperation and development, the archive provides insight into the IAEA’s assistance to Member States in applying nuclear science in areas such as health, agriculture and industry. Furthermore, documents and traces for research in environmental protection and radiation data related to nuclear testing, radiation surveillance and the agency’s environmental programmes can be found in the archive. The archive also contains documents for science and technology policy, illustrating how nuclear science has been governed at the international level. Lastly, legal studies can benefit from access to a broad collection of treaties, conventions and legal instruments that form the foundation of international nuclear law.
Featured primary source
The presented example is a photograph of the mobile isotope lab being hoisted on a ship to travel from Montevideo (Uruguay) to Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in 1961.
In 1958, the IAEA received a donation from the United States of two buses with mobile radioisotope laboratories. Their aim was to drive around the world and to facilitate foundational training in handling radioisotopes. An IAEA-internal circular letter from 1959 describes the equipment and the stated purpose of the buses thus:
“Each of the two mobile laboratories consisted of a chemical laboratory and radiation counting room, mounted permanently on the chassis of a large lorry. Each unit is equipped to provide instruction in various techniques for the use of radioisotopes in medicine, agriculture and industry, and to conduct scientific experiments in biology, chemistry, etc. It appears that the laboratories offer an economic means for training a large number of professionals, technicians and advanced students in a short time …”
The first bus was sent to tour around Asia; the second bus was dispatched to Latin America, both in 1960. Each bus was accompanied by a technical instructor (a scientist), an electronic technician (who also assisted the scientist), and a driver responsible for mechanical maintenance. The arrival of these mobile labs significantly enhanced nuclear training and research since they enabled universities to provide practical isotope training to students. Between 1959 and 1965, the two units travelled to sixteen countries across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, training approximately 1,500 students and technicians.
The buses were part of the IAEA mission to proliferate nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. The presented photograph gives insights into the complexity of that mission. The buses were operating mostly in remote regions with limited access that were mainly part of countries of the Global South. However, they were funded by the United States, showcasing the civil nuclear diplomacy in the emerging era of the Cold War. The global trajectory and the political implications, but also the narrative of proliferation of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes of the two dispatched mobile laboratories unfold a topic that can be best understood through the methods and lenses of global history that go beyond methodological nationalism and acknowledge the (dis)entangled character of the Atomic Age in the 20th century. Finally, the history of the laboratories exemplifies the global character of topics such as mobility, technology, scales, the Global South or the circulation of science and expertise.
Further reading
INFCIRC/140. Vienna: IAEA, April 22, 1970.
International Atomic Energy Agency. Circular letter, SC/216, Box 8619. Vienna: IAEA, February 24, 1959.
International Atomic Energy Agency. The Texts of the Agency’s Agreements with the Republic of Austria. INFCIRC/15. Vienna: IAEA, December 10, 1959.
International Atomic Energy Agency. Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. July 1, 1968.
International Council on Archives. ISDIAH: International Standard for Describing Institutions with Archival Holdings. Prepared by the ICA Committee on Best Practices and Standards. Paris: International Council on Archives, 2008.
Mateos González, Gisela, and Edna Suárez-Díaz. Radioisótopos itinerantes en América Latina: Una historia de ciencia por tierra y por mar. Ciudad de México: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 2016.
Rentetzi, Maria. “With Strings Attached: Gift-Giving to the International Atomic Energy Agency and US Foreign Policy.” Endeavour (New Series) 45, no. 1–2 (2021): 100754.
Röhrlich, Elisabeth. Inspectors for Peace: A History of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2022.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. Guide to the Archives of International Organisations. Paris: UNESCO, 1984.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. Guide to the Archives of Intergovernmental Organisations. Paris: UNESCO, 1999.