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12/2/2018 Archive - Wikipedia

An archive is an accumulation of historical records or the physical place they are located.[1]Archives
contain primary sourcedocuments that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organization's lifetime,
and are kept to show the function of that person or organization. Professional archivists and historians generally
understand archives to be records that have been naturally and necessarily generated as a product of regular
legal, commercial, administrative, or social activities. They have been metaphorically defined as "the secretions of
an organism",[2] and are distinguished from documents that have been consciously written or created to
communicate a particular message to posterity.
In general, archives consist of records that have been selected for permanent or long-term preservation on
grounds of their enduring cultural, historical, or evidentiary value. Archival records are normally unpublished and
almost always unique, unlike books or magazines for which many identical copies exist. This means that archives
are quite distinct from libraries with regard to their functions and organization, although archival collections can
often be found within library buildings.[3]
A person who works in archives is called an archivist. The study and practice of organizing, preserving, and
providing access to information and materials in archives is called archival science. The physical place of storage
can be referred to as an archive (more usual in the United Kingdom), an archives (more usual in the United
States), or a repository.[4]
When referring to historical records or the places they are kept, the plural form archives is chiefly used.[5] The
computing use of the term 'archive' should not be confused with the record-keeping meaning of the term.

Contents
1 Etymology
2 History
3 Users and institutions
3.1 Academic
3.2 Business (for profit)
3.3 Government
3.4 Church
3.5 Films
3.6 Non-profit
3.7 Web archiving
3.8 Other
4 Standardization
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

Etymology [ edit ]

First attested in English in early 17th century, the word archive /ˈɑːrkaɪv/ is derived from the
French archives(plural), in turn from Latin archīum or archīvum,[6] which is the romanized form of
the Greek ἀρχεῖον (archeion), "public records, town-hall, residence, or office of chief magistrates",[7] itself
from ἀρχή (arkhē), amongst others "magistracy, office, government"[8] (compare an-archy, mon-archy), which
comes from the verb ἄρχω (arkhō), "to begin, rule, govern".[9]
The word originally developed from the Greek ἀρχεῖον(arkheion), which refers to the home or dwelling of
the Archon, in which important official state documents were filed and interpreted under the authority of the Archon.
The adjective formed from archive is archival.

History [ edit ]

The practice of keeping official documents is very old. Archaeologists have discovered archives of hundreds (and
sometime thousands) of clay tablets going back to the third and second millennia BC in sites
like Ebla, Mari, Amarna, Hattusas, Ugarit, and Pylos. These discoveries have been fundamental to know ancient
alphabets, languages, literature, and politics.

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Archives were well developed by the ancient Chinese, the ancient Greeks, and ancient Romans (who called
them Tabularia). However, they have been lost, since documents written on materials like papyrus and paper
deteriorated at a faster pace, unlike their stone tablet counterparts. Archives of churches, kingdoms, and cities
from the Middle Ages survive and have often kept their official status uninterruptedly until now. They are the basic
tool for historical research on these ages.[10]
Modern archival thinking has many roots from the French Revolution. The French National Archives, who possess
perhaps the largest archival collection in the world, with records going as far back as 625 A.D., were created in
1790 during the French Revolution from various government, religious, and private archives seized by the
revolutionaries.[11]

Users and institutions [ edit ]

Historians, genealogists, lawyers, demographers, filmmakers, and others


conduct research at archives.[12]The research process at each archive is
unique, and depends upon the institution that houses the archive. While
there are many kinds of archives, the most recent census of archivists in
the United States identifies five major types: academic, business (for profit),
government, non-profit, and other.[13] There are also four main areas of
inquiry involved with archives: material technologies, organizing principles,
geographic locations, and tangled embodiments of humans and non-
humans. These areas help to further categorize what kind of archive is
being created.

Reading room of
Academic [ edit ]
the Österreichisches
See also: Institutional repository Staatsarchiv (Austrian State Archive), in
Archives in colleges, universities, and other the Erdberg district of Vienna (2006)
educational facilities are typically housed
within a library, and duties may be carried
out by an archivist.[14][page needed]Academic archives exist to preserve institutional
history and serve the academic community.[15] An academic archive may contain
materials such as the institution's administrative records, personal and professional
papers of former professors and presidents, memorabilia related to school
organizations and activities, and items the academic library wishes to remain in a
closed-stack setting, such as rare books or thesis copies. Access to the collections
in these archives is usually by prior appointment only; some have posted hours for
making inquiries. Users of academic archives can be undergraduates, graduate
students, faculty and staff, scholarly researchers, and the general public. Many
academic archives work closely with alumni relations departments or other campus
institutions to help raise funds for their library or school.[16] Qualifications for
employment may vary. Entry-level positions usually require an undergraduate
diploma, but typically archivists hold graduate degrees in history or library science
Charles Sturt (preferably certified by a body such as the American Library
UniversityRegional Archives. Association).[17] Subject-area specialization becomes more common in higher
ranking positions.[18]

Business (for profit) [ edit ]

Archives located in for-profit institutions are usually those owned by a private business. Examples of prominent
business archives in the United States include Coca-Cola (which also owns the separate museum World of Coca-
Cola), Procter and Gamble, Motorola Heritage Services and Archives, and Levi Strauss & Co. These corporate
archives maintain historic documents and items related to the history and administration of their
companies.[19] Business archives serve the purpose of helping their corporations maintain control over their brand
by retaining memories of the company's past. Especially in business archives, records management is separate
from the historic aspect of archives. Workers in these types of archives may have any combination of training and
degrees, from either a history or library background. These archives are typically not open to the public and only
used by workers of the owner company, though some allow approved visitors by appointment.[20] Business archives

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are concerned with maintaining the integrity of their company, and are therefore selective of how their materials
may be used.[21]

Government [ edit ]
Main article: National archives
Government archives include those maintained by local and state
government as well as those maintained by the national (or federal)
government. Anyone may use a government archive, and frequent users
include reporters, genealogists, writers, historians, students, and people
seeking information on the history of their home or region. Many
government archives are open to the public and no appointment is
required to visit.[22]
In the United States, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
maintains central archival facilities in the District of Columbia and College
Park, Maryland, with regional facilities distributed throughout the United
States. Some city or local governments may have repositories, but their
organization and accessibility varies widely.[23] Similar to the library
profession, certification requirements and education also varies widely,
from state to state.[24] Professional associations themselves encourage the
need to professionalize.[25] NARA offers the Certificate of Federal Records
Management Training Program for professional development.[26] The
majority of state and local archives staff hold a bachelor's degree[27]—
increasingly repositories list advanced degrees (e.g. MA, MLS/MLIS, PhD)
and certifications as a position requirement or preference.[17]
In the UK, the National Archives (formerly known as the Public Record
Office) is the government archive for England and Wales. The English Storage facility at the National
Heritage Archive is the public archive of English Heritage. The National Archives and Records Administration,
Archives of Scotland, located in Edinburgh, serve that country while Washington, D.C.
the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland in Belfast is the government
archive for Northern Ireland.
A network of county record offices and other local authority-run archives exists throughout England, Wales, and
Scotland and holds many important collections, including local government, landed estates, church, and business
records. Many archives have contributed catalogues to the national "Access to Archives" programme and online
searching across collections is possible.
In France, the French Archives Administration (Service interministériel des Archives de France) in the Ministry of
Culture manages the National Archives (Archives nationales), which possess 406 km. (252 miles) of archives as of
2010 (the total length of occupied shelves put next to each other), with original records going as far back as A.D.
625, as well as the departmental archives (archives départementales), located in the préfectures of each of the
100 départements of France, which possess 2,297 km. (1,427 miles) of archives (as of 2010), and also the local
city archives, about 600 in total, which possess 456 km. (283,4 miles) of archives (as of 2010).[28] Put together, the
total volume of archives under the supervision of the French Archives Administration is the largest in the world.
In India, the National Archives (NAI) are located in New Delhi.
In Taiwan, the National Archives Administration are located in Taipei.[29]
Most intergovernmental organisations keep their own historical archives. However, a number of European
organisations, including the European Commission, choose to deposit their archives with the European University
Institute in Florence.[30]

Church [ edit ]

A prominent Church Archives is the Vatican Secret Archive.[31] Archdioceses, dioceses, and parishes also have
archives in the Roman Catholic and AnglicanChurches. Very important are monastery archives, because of their
antiquity, like the ones of Monte Cassino, Saint Gall, and Fulda. The records in these archives include manuscripts,
papal records, local Church records, photographs, oral histories, audiovisual materials, and architectural drawings.
Most Protestant denominations have archives as well, including the Presbyterian U.S.A Historical Society,[32]The
Moravian Church Archives,[33] The Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives,[34] the United Methodist
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Archives and History Center of the United Methodist Church,[35] and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).[36]

Films [ edit ]
Main category: Film archives
See also: List of film archives and Cinematheque
This section needs
expansion. You can help by adding
to it. (October 2011)

Non-profit [ edit ]

Non-profit archives include those in historical societies, not-for-profit businesses such as hospitals, and the
repositories within foundations. Non-profit archives are typically set up with private funds from donors to preserve
the papers and history of specific persons or places. Often these institutions rely on grant funding from the
government as well as the private funds.[37]Depending on the funds available, non-profit archives may be as small
as the historical society in a rural town to as big as a state historical society that rivals a government archives.
Users of this type of archive may vary as much as the institutions that hold them. Employees of non-profit archives
may be professional archivists, para-professionals, or volunteers, as the education required for a position at a non-
profit archive varies with the demands of the collection's user base.[38]

Web archiving [ edit ]


Main article: Web archive
Web archiving is the process of collecting portions of the World Wide Web and ensuring the collection
is preserved in an archive, such as an archive site, for future researchers, historians, and the public. Due to the
massive size of the Web, web archivists typically employ web crawlers for automated collection.
Similarly, software code and documentation can be archived on the web, as with the example of CPAN.

Other [ edit ]

Some archives defy categorization. There are tribal archives within the Native American nations in North America,
and there are archives that exist within the papers of private individuals. Many museums keep archives in order to
prove the provenance of their pieces. Any institution or persons wishing to keep their significant papers in an
organized fashion that employs the most basic principles of archival science may have an archive. In the 2004
census of archivists taken in the United States, 2.7% of archivists were employed in institutions that defied
categorization. This was a separate figure from the 1.3% that identified themselves as self-employed.[39]
Another type of archive is the Public Secrets project.[40] This is an interactive testimonial, in which women
incarcerated in the California State Prison System describe what happened to them. The archive's mission is to
gather stories from women who want to express themselves, and want their stories heard. This collection includes
transcripts and an audio recording of the women telling their stories.
The archives of an individual may include letters, papers, photographs, computer files, scrapbooks, financial
records, or diaries created or collected by the individual – regardless of media or format. The archives of an
organization (such as a corporation or government) tend to contain other types of records, such as administrative
files, business records, memos, official correspondence, and meeting minutes.

Standardization [ edit ]

The International Council on Archives (ICA) has developed a number of standards on archival description including
the General International Standard Archival Description ISAD(G).[41] ISAD(G) is meant to be used in conjunction
with national standards or as a basis for nations to build their own standards.[42] In the United States, ISAD(G) is
implemented through Describing Archives: A Content Standard, popularly known as "DACS".[43] In Canada,
ISAD(G) is implemented through the Council of Archives[44] as the Rules for Archival Description, also known as
"RAD".[45]
ISO is currently working on standards.[46][47]

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