International Federation for Documentation (FID)

Abstract

The FID maintained the leading role in the international Documentation and Information Science scene since 1895 — the year of the foundation of the IIB by Paul Otlet and Henri La Fontaine — to 2002, when it definitively ceased its activities. Nevertheless, based on research carried out to date, part of the archival material has never been subject to reorganization and inventory, being, in fact, not very accessible and difficult to consult. In this preliminary study we present a brief outline of the FID historical and institutional events against the background of the socio-cultural context within which it carried out its activities. It also provides an initial survey of the existing documental sources.