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Archive
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For other uses, see Archive (disambiguation).
For the Wikipedia coordination point on archived pages, see Wikipedia:Historical
archive.
For details on how to archive a talk page, see Help:Archiving a talk page.
"Digital archive" redirects here. It is not to be confused with Digital library. For other
uses, see Digital archiving.
Shelved record boxes of an archive.
An archive is an accumulation of historical records – in any media – or the physical

facility in which they are located.[1] Archives contain primary source documents 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 Archival records are normally unpublished and almost always unique, unlike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 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.[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][5]
The computing use of the term "archive" should not be confused with the record-
keeping meaning of the term.
Contents
• 1Etymology
• 2History
• 3Users and institutions
o 3.1Academic
o 3.2Business (for profit)
o 3.3Government
o 3.4Church
o 3.5Films
o 3.6Non-profit
o 3.7Web archiving
o 3.8Other
• 4Standardization
• 5Protection
• 6See also
• 7References
• 8External links
Etymology[edit]
The English word archive /ˈɑːrkaɪv/ is derived from the French archives (plural), and
in turn from Latin archīum or archīvum,[6] the romanized form of
the Greek ἀρχεῖον (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".[7] The root of the
Greek word is ἀρχή (arkhē), meaning among other things "magistracy, office,
government",[8] and derived from the verb ἄρχω (arkhō), meaning "to begin, rule,
govern" (also the root of English words such as "anarchy" and "monarchy"). [9]
The word archive is first attested in English in the early 17th century, and the
word archivist in the mid 18th century, although in these periods both terms are
usually found used only in reference to foreign institutions and personnel. Not until
the late 19th century did they begin to be used at all widely in domestic contexts.[5][10]
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.
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. [11]
England after 1066 developed archives and archival research methods. [12] The Swiss
developed archival systems after 1450.[13]
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
Revolution from various government, religious, and private archives seized by the
revolutionaries.[14]
Users and institutions[edit]
Reading room of the Österreichisches Staatsarchiv (Austrian State Archive), in the Erdberg district of
Vienna (2006)
Historians, genealogists, lawyers, demographers, filmmakers, and others conduct

research at archives.[15] 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.[16] 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.
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Archive

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shelved record boxes of an archive.

An archive is an accumulation of historical records – in any media – or the physical

Users and institutions[edit]

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

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