Pares: spanish archives webportal. Building bridges between researchers and the archives.

In this article, the PARES information search and retrieval system is evaluated. PARES is a shared platform that integrates eleven national archival databases. A series of parameters have been posited to assess its adequacy and/or degree of excellence. We have concluded that the webportal needs to improve in terms of user training, with regard to the protocols for access and retrieval, and in terms of the interface in order to make the user more comfortable. Despite some shortcomings, the PARES webportal constitutes an important advance in making historical Spanish documents available to researchers and the general public.