Archive

An archive is an organised collection of records selected for long-term retention, together with the institution or system that cares for them. Archives differ from libraries mainly by emphasising unique or rare records (often unpublished) and by documenting provenance and original order.

Physical and digital

Traditional archives hold paper, film, and other physical media. Born-digital archives and Web archiving programmes extend the same custodial ideas to electronic mail, databases, websites, and social-media captures. Digital archives still need appraisal (what to keep), description (how to find it), and access rules.

Functions

Core archival functions include acquisition/appraisal, arrangement and description, preservation, and reference service. In digital settings these map onto ingest pipelines, metadata schemas, fixity monitoring, and public discovery interfaces such as the Wayback Machine.

Cultural role

Archives underpin Cultural memory: courts, journalists, historians, and everyday users rely on retained evidence when live websites change or disappear (Link rot, Content drift).

See also

• Digital preservation
• Institutional repository
• Internet Archive
• Primary source

Sources

• International Council on Archives and standard archival manuals (general reference).
• Rewritten overview for Foreverpedia; attribute upstream encyclopedias where consulted.