By Royal Decree of 5 July 1871 its name was changed to Junta Consultiva de Archivos, Bibliotecas y Museos. It was conferred the title Junta Facultativa de Archivos, Bibliotecas y Museos by the Royal Decree of 16 April 1875. The Junta was subjected to numerous regulations from the date of its creation and up to 1936; its competencies, however, barely changed. Its main functions were:

• To implement the Government's enquiries concerning the establishment and classification of the kingdom's Archives, Libraries and Museums, and about the most suitable system for each.
• To propose the establishment, incorporation and classification of the Archives, Libraries and Museums to be undertaken by official from the Cuerpo Facultativo de Archiveros, Bibliotecarios y Arqueólogos.
• To draw up the programmes for any prizes that might be created.
• To propose the general regulations for the Cuerpo Facultativo de Archiveros, Bibliotecarios y Arqueólogos, special regulations for the establishments and instructions for tasks undertaken.
• To make proposals for recruitment to the Cuerpo Facultativo de Archiveros, Bibliotecarios y Arqueólogos and promotion through competitive examinations.
• To propose the means for increasing the collections of the Archives, Libraries and Museums.
• To contribute to governmental proceedings to suspend or dismiss employees of this corps, or relating to their transfer, both between establishments and from one section to another.
• To examine the reports and statements that the persons in charge of each establishment periodically send to the Management body, drafting, with their collaboration, the corresponding yearbook, which must include the services rendered by the Cuerpo Facultativo de Archiveros, Bibliotecarios y Arqueólogos in the establishments under its responsibility.

By Decree of the Ministry of Public Instruction of 30 December 1932, a Consejo Asesor or Advisory Board was created for the Junta Facultativa de Archivos, Bibliotecas y Museos. Said board would act as a supplementary body, largely charged with fostering and undertaking the technical and scientific activities of the Cuerpo Facultativo de Archiveros, Bibliotecarios y Arqueólogos.

It is, therefore, an extraordinarily important documentary asset for understanding nearly a whole century of the history of Spanish Archives, Libraries and Museums. It is conserved in the Biblioteca Nacional Archive because the Director of said archive, as head of the Cuerpo Facultativo de Archiveros, Bibliotecarios y Arqueólogos, also chaired its working sessions, which were held at its offices, where all the documentation generated by the Junta was filed.

On 5 August 1936, a few days after the military uprising which led to the Civil War, a Decree from the Ministry of Public Instruction and Fine Arts terminated the functions of the Junta Facultativa de Archivos, Bibliotecas y Museos and its Advisory Board, appointing a Comisión Gestora or Steering Committee to replace the defunct Junta of the Cuerpo Facultativo de Archivos, Bibliotecas y Museos. Under this decree, the Steering Committee inherited the functions hitherto performed by the Junta Facultativa. Some months later, on 16 February 1937, the Consejo Central de Archivos, Bibliotecas y Tesoro Artístico was formed. This body was responsible for co-ordinating the work of these establishments and protecting and promoting the country's artistic, documentary and bibliographic heritage. Interestingly, some days earlier, on 12 February, the office of the Director General for Fine Arts had appointed a Comisión Delegada or Delegate Committee made up of five officials to act on behalf of the Consejo Central, assuming the duties hitherto performed by the Steering Committee. The activities of all these Civil War bodies are reflected in their documentation, which is conserved in this documentary asset.

CLASSIFICATION CHART

The documentary assets of the Junta Facultativa de Archivos, Bibliotecas y Museos occupy around 50 linear metres. These assets are currently in the process of organisation and description. A provisional classification chart is shown below, which may give the reader an idea of what documentation is involved and how it is organised:

1. Junta Facultativa de Archivos, Bibliotecas y Museos (1858-1936)

• Minutes(1857-1936)
• Entry register (1858-1936)
• Exit register (1933-1936)
• The Secretary's correspondence
• Rulings
• Matters
• Annual Reports from the establishments
• Quarterly updates from the establishments
• Assistance reports from the establishments
• Rights accrued through certifications
• Transfer competitive examinations, files of
• Post for candidates entering by competitive examination, files of
• Competitive examinations, files of
• Hierarchy
• Staff roll
• Regulations
• Accounts

2. Consejo Asesor de la Junta Facultativa de Archivos, Bibliotecas y Museos (1933-1936)

• Minutes(1933-1936)
• Entry register (1933-1936)
• Exit register (1933-1936)
• Correspondence

3. Comisión Gestora del Cuerpo Facultativo de Archivos, Bibliotecas y Museos (1936-1937)

• Minutes(1936)
• Entry register (1936-1937)
• Exit register 1936-1937)
• Correspondence

4. Comisión Delegada del Consejo Central de Archivos, Bibliotecas y Tesoro Artístico (1936-1937)

• Entry register (1936-1937)
• Exit register (1936-1936)
• Correspondence.