An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials, in any medium, or the physical facility in which they are located.
Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organization's lifetime, and are kept to show the history and 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", and are distinguished from documents that have been consciously written or created to communicate a particular message to posterity.
Generally, archives consist of records that have been selected for permanent or long-term preservation on the grounds of their enduring cultural, historical, or evidentiary value. Archival records are normally unpublished and very often unique, unlike books or magazines, of which many identical copies may exist.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. While archives are traditionally collections of documents, some scholars argue that buildings can be a type of archive. The choice of what to include in an archive can be a political act.
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.
The use of the term "archive" with regards to computing (referring to a computer file storing the content of one or more others) should not be confused with the record-keeping meaning.
Etymology The English word archive is derived from the French archives (plural), and in turn from Latin archīum or archīvum,archīum , Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, on Perseus the romanized form of the Greek (arkheion). The Greek term originally referred to the home or dwelling of the Archon, a ruler or chief magistrate, in which important official state documents were filed and interpreted; from there its meaning broadened to encompass such concepts as "town hall" and "public records".ἀρχεῖον , Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus The root of the Greek word is (arkhē), meaning among other things "magistracy, office, government",ἀρχή , Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus and derived from the verb (arkhō), meaning "to begin, rule, govern" (also the root of English words such as "anarchy" and "monarchy").ἄρχω , Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
The word archive was first attested in English in the early 17th century, and the word archivist in the mid-18th century, although in these periods both terms were usually used only in reference to foreign institutions and personnel. Not until the late 19th century did they begin to be used widely in domestic contexts.
The adjective formed from archive is archival.
History The practice of keeping official documents is very old.Yeo Geoffrey. 2021. Record-Making and Record-Keeping in Early Societies. Abingdon Oxon: Routledge. Archaeologists have discovered archives of hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of clay tablets dating back to the third and second millennia BC in sites like Ebla, Mari, Amarna, Hattusas, Ugarit, and Pylos. These discoveries have been fundamental to learning about ancient alphabets, languages, literature, and politics.
Oral literature, such as Palestinian hikaye, can also have archival functions for communities.
Archives were well developed by the ancient Chinese, the ancient Greeks, and the ancient Romans (who called them Tabularia). The idea that a society would designate a place to preserve records is integral to the Justinian Code (which set Roman law).
England, after 1066, developed archives and archival access methods.Michael T. Clanchy, From Memory to Written Record: England 1066–1307 (Blackwell, 1979). The Swiss developed archival systems after 1450.Randolph Head, "Knowing Like a State: The Transformation of Political Knowledge in Swiss Archives, 1450–1770", Journal of Modern History, 75 (2003), pp. 745–82. online
The first predecessors of archival science in the West are Jacob von Rammingen's manuals of 1571.The earliest predecessors of archival science - Jacob von Rammingen's two manuals of the registry and archival management, printed in 1571, translated by JBLD Strömberg. Lund: Wallin & Dalholm, Lundaboken, 2010 and Baldassarre Bonifacio's De Archivis libris singularis of 1632.L. Sandri, 'Il "De Archivis" di Baldassare Bonifacio', Notizie delle Archive di Stato, Roma, 1950, p. 95-111.
Modern archiving has some roots dating back to the French Revolution. The French National Archives, which possess perhaps the largest archival collection in the world (with records going as far back as 625 A.D.), was created in 1790 during the Revolution from various government, religious, and private archives seized by the revolutionaries.
In 1883, French archivist Gabriel Richou published the first Western text on archival theory, entitled Traité théorique et pratique des archives publiques (Treaty of Theory and Practice of the Public Archives), in which he systematized the archival theory of the respect des fonds, first published by Natalis de Wailly in 1841.F. Hildesheimer, "Les Premières publications des Archives", Histoires de France, historiens de la France, Paris, 1994, p. 280-299.
Users and institutions
Historians, genealogists, lawyers, demographers, filmmakers, and others conduct research at archives. 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 others. 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.
Academic
Archives in colleges, universities, and other educational facilities are typically housed within a library, and duties may be carried out by an archivist. Academic archives exist to preserve institutional history and serve the academic community. 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. Qualifications for employment may vary. Entry-level positions usually require an undergraduate diploma, but typically archivists hold graduate degrees in history or library science (preferably certified by a body such as the American Library Association). Subject-area specialization becomes more common in higher-ranking positions.
Business 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. Business archives serve the purpose of helping corporations maintain control over their brand by retaining memories of the company's past. Especially in business archives, records management is separate from the historical 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 are only used by workers of the owner company, though some allow approved visitors by appointment. Business archives are concerned with maintaining the integrity of their company and are therefore selective about how their materials may be used.
Government
Government archives include those maintained by local and state governments 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.
In the United States, the 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 vary widely. Similar to the library profession, certification requirements and education also varies widely, from state to state.Watkins, Christine. "Chapter Report: The Many Faces of Certification." American Libraries 29, no. 9 (October 1998): 11. (accessed 23 July 2014). Professional associations themselves encourage the need to professionalize.Bastian, Jeannette, and Elizabeth Yakel. "'Are We There Yet?' Professionalism and the Development of an Archival Core Curriculum in the United States." Journal of Education for Library & Information Science 46, no. 2 (Spring2005 2005): 95–114. (accessed 23 July 2014) NARA offers the Certificate of Federal Records Management Training Program for professional development. The majority of state and local archives staff hold a bachelor's degree—increasingly repositories list advanced degrees (e.g. MA, MLS/MLIS, Ph.D.) and certifications as a position requirement or preference.
In the UK, the National Archives (formerly known as the Public Record Office) is the government archive for England and Wales. The physical records stored by the National Archives amount to of shelving, a number that increases every year. The English Heritage Archive is the public archive of English Heritage. The National Records of Scotland, located in Edinburgh, serves that country; while 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 catalogs to the national "Access to Archives" program and online searching across collections is possible.