Knowra Archives Archives Archives are collections of records preserved for their enduring historical, legal, or administrative value. The term also describes the institutions and practices that steward those records.
Record (document) : Recorded information created or received as evidence of an activity or transaction. Archives preserve records because they document actions, not merely because they contain useful information.
Records management : The systematic control of records throughout their creation, use, retention, and disposal. Records management connects active organizational records to their possible archival preservation.
Historical research : The investigation of the past through evidence, including records, artifacts, and testimony. Researchers use archival records to reconstruct events and assess historical claims.
Library : An institution that selects, organizes, and provides access to information resources, often for reading or research. Libraries commonly collect published works by subject, while archives preserve records in their contexts.
Provenance : The origin and history of an object, document, or collection. An archive's provenance records who created and accumulated its materials.
Accessioning : The formal process of taking custody of records and recording their transfer to an archive. Accessioning establishes what an archive has received and under what terms.
Public records : Records created or received by government bodies in conducting public business. Public archives preserve government records that support accountability and document civic life.
Museum : An institution that collects, preserves, studies, and exhibits objects of cultural, historical, or scientific significance. Museums center objects and interpretation; archives center records and their relationships.
Original order : The arrangement of records established by their creator or an earlier custodian. Preserving original order can reveal how an organization used its records.
Arrangement and description : The archival work of organizing records and documenting their context and contents. This work turns acquired materials into structured, interpretable collections.
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