The Department of Archives, a branch of the Prime Minister's Office, is designated as the custodian of major records of national significance, both retrospective and current.

However, in the absence of legislation empowering the Department of Archives to collect records from other government agencies, central government ministries and provincial government offices continue to maintain their own archives.

Important repositories of ancient palm leaf manuscripts are located at the National Library in Vientiane and at the National Museum in Luang Prabang. The latter institution also houses a collection of colonial-era documents and records, concerned mainly with relations between the French government and the last two kings.

In addition, Laos also has a number of special archives, including the National Film Archive and Video Centre and the Archives of Traditional Music in Laos (ATML).

Use the navigation bar on the left to read more about archives in Laos or make direct contact with organisations and individuals working in this sector through our KEY CONTACTS database.