This document discusses the purpose and operation of archives. It begins with the theoretical background of archives, including their definition as institutions that collect and preserve historical materials, and the different types of archives like business, ethnic, and university archives. It then discusses the main purposes of archives, which are to preserve materials, transfer information to viewers, and serve the public. The next section covers the operation of archives and some of the challenges they face. The document concludes with a list of references on the topic of archives.

1. 2 3
The Purpose and Operation of an Archive
1
Conclusion
& References
Operation
& Problems
Theoretical
Background

2. 2/7
1 Theoretical Background
Definition • the agency or program responsible for selecting,
acquiring, preserving, and making available archival
materials.
• a memory institution that collect memory of peoples,
communities, institutions and individuals, the scientific
and cultural heritage.
• Storehouse for the material from which national
memories were constructed with the emergence of the
modern state
Sniffin-Marinoff (1999)
Rubin (2016)
Featherstone (2016)

3. 3/7
1 Theoretical Background
Types of
Archive
Types of Archive
There are several types of archives which include
Association of Canadian Archivists (2005):
Business/Corporate archives;
Ethnic/Cultural archives;
National, Provincial, Territorial and Municipal
archives;
Medical archives;
Regional/Community archives;
Religious archives;
University/College archives.

4. Theoretical Background1
4/7
Re-use/retrieve information
at another time and in
another place
(Thomassen, 2001, p. 375)
Support operational
management
Agents of accountability
and evidence
Cultural-historical
function
(Thomassen, 2001, p. 375)
Serve the public
Collect documents of a special
Preserve and protect material
Transfer information from an
object to the viewer
(Rubin, 2016, p.16-17)
Purposes of Archive
Main Purpose Physical Purpose Cultural Purpose

5. 5/7
2 Operation and Challenges
Archive Operation Mullins, C. (2015 , March 24). Components of a Database
Archiving Solution [Photograph]. Retrieved from
https://image.slidesharecdn.com/archiving-final-dgconf-
150324153700-conversion-gate01/95/database-archiving-
managing-data-for-long-retention-periods-21-
638.jpg?cb=1427211492

6. 6/7
2 Operation and Challenges
Types of
Archive
Archiving Problems

7. 7/7
3 References
Types of
Archive
References
• Association of Canadian Archivists. (2005).
• Archive, Mike Featherstone, Nottingham Trent University: Theory, Culture & Society, Vol 23, Issue 2-
3, pp. 591 – 596, First published date: June-30-2016
• Megan Sniffin-Marinoff, To archive or not to archive? The message of a (somewhat) meaningless
question, In Government Information Quarterly, Volume 16, Issue 3, 1999, Pages 199-202
• Rubin, Richard E. (2016). Foundations of Library and Information Science, 4rd ed. New York: Neal-
Schuman.
• Thomassen, T. (2001). A first introduction to archival science. Archives and Museum informatics, 1(4),
373-385.