FICEDL, the International Federation of Libertarian Study Centres and Archives (Fédération internationale des centres d’études et de documentation libertaires), is an international organisation which coordinates archives and libraries across the world concerned with the documentation of the anarchist movement. Its aim is to create a network of mutual support and to enable the sharing of information across the organisations. The federation, which doesn’t have a formal organisational structure, meets together periodically hosted by different member organisations on rotation. It seeks to create a politics of cooperation, taking into account the specific experiences of each member organisation in equal measure. Membership of the federation is, therefore, on an “associative” basis.
The federation was born in Marseille in 1979. The channels of communication between the organisations for many years was an internal bulletin of the name “Anarchives”, published inizially in Paris, then in Marseille and then in Barcelona. Between 1979 and 1982 15 editions were published, containing updates on the activities of the member organisations and on the activities of the editorial team, articles about relevant research projects being carried out, as well as reviews. After some time the publication of the bulletin was suspended, although a section on the work of FICEDL began to be produced as part of the Losanna “Bulletin del Centre Internationale de Recherches sur l’anarchisme”.
At the last meeting (Lion, 2013) the following organisations were present:
Anarchistische Bibliothek und Archiv, Wien
Archive gateway, Paris
Archivio-Biblioteca Enrico Travaglini, Fano (PU)
Archivio storico popolare Libero Dall’Olio, Medicina (BO)
Ateneu enciclopedic popular, Barcelona
Biblioteca-Archivo T. Claramunt (Soria)
Biblioteca libertaria Armando Borghi, Castelbolognese (RA)
Biblioteca Terra Livre, Sao Paolo (Brasil) BOESG Biblioteca observatório dos estragos da sociedade globalizada, Lisboa
CEDRATS Centre de documentation et de recherches sur les alternatives sociales Michel Derrion, Lion
Centre Ascaso-Durruti, Montpellier
Centre de documentation libertaire, Lille
Centre de documentation libertaire, Lion
Centro de cultura social, Sao Paolo (Brasil)
Centro studi libertari/Archivio Pinelli, Milan
CIRA Centre international de recherches sur l’anarchisme, Losanna
CIRA Centre international de recherches sur l’anarchisme, Marseille
Circolo Carlo Vanza, Bellinzona
Eutopic Library, Athens
Fundación Salvador Segui, Madrid (Barcelona and Valencia)
A list of the past meetings of FICEDL
I) Marseille, April 1979
II) Lione, May 1980
III) Wetzlar, April 1981
IV) Barcelona, October 1982
V) Geneva, October 1985
VI) Milan, November 1987
VII) Losanna, March-April 1990
VIII) Amsterdam-Utrecht, May 1992
IX) Barcelona, April 1994
X) Marseille, 1996
XI) Valencia, April 2000
XII) Marseille, November 2005
XIII) Losanna, September 2007
XIV) Pisa, September 2009
XV) Lisboa, September 2011
XVI) Lion, September 2013