Written in Dutch, it is the official journal of the Koninklijke Vereniging van Archivarissen in Nederland [nl] (Royal Association of Archivists in the Netherlands), and is free to members.

[1][2] The journal was formed by a merger of Nieuws van Archieven and Nederlandsch Archievenblad,[3] which was first published in 1892,[4] after the Netherlands Society of Archivists was founded in 1891.

[5][6][3] The inaugural issue of Nederlandsch Archievenblad set forth several basic principles which later formed the foundation of the Manual for the Arrangement and Description of Archives (1898),[7] which was translated into German, Italian, French, and English, and was widely regarded as "the bible of modern archivists".

[4] Each issue had an "official" section featuring reports, archival laws, and the association's constitution; once a year, it also published a list of members.

[4] The "nonofficial" section regularly featured articles and contributions; at times, it also included necrologies, book reviews, and short news items.