The Institute of Taiwan History (ITH), Academia Sinica, is a leading institution for Taiwan history research. Since its early years as the Field Research Office, the ITH has been dedicated to collecting private historical documents from across Taiwan. In 2009, the Archives was formally established to systematically acquire, organize, digitize, and provide access to Taiwan-related historical records.

The Archives’ holdings are classified into three main categories: personal papers and collections, family and community documents, and institutional archives. The materials are diverse, including diaries, manuscripts, photographs, artworks, land deeds, genealogies, business correspondence, official documents, and reports, dating from the Qing dynasty to the postwar era. In total, the collection comprises over 400,000 volumes/items and more than 10 million pages of digital images.

Cataloging follows international archival standards ISAD(G) and EAD, preserving the provenance and original order of the records. The Taiwan History Archives System was developed to integrate all holdings for collection management, cataloging, and public access.

The upgraded system offers enhanced search and browsing capabilities, including advanced multi-criteria searches, improved hierarchical display, more convenient navigation and citation, and search history retention for future reference. Access to the holdings is tiered, with some digital images available online. For fuller and more comprehensive access to archival materials, we welcome you to visit the Archives in person.