Archival science

People keep old things to remember the past.

These can be papers or photos.

Special workers called archivists take care of them. They collect and study these items. They must keep them safe and clean. This helps people trust the facts. They also make sure things stay in order. This shows how they were first used.

Now, archivists even help with digital files. They help us learn about our world.

Archival science is the study of archives.

An archive is a collection of items. These can be papers, photos, or digital files. Archivists are the people who care for these items. They must make sure the records are real and useful. They also keep them safe from damage.

In 1540, Jacob von Rammingen wrote a book about this work.

It was the first known manual for archives. Later, in the 1800s, new ideas changed how people worked. People started using a rule called provenance. This means keeping records from the same source together.

They also use a rule called original order. This means keeping items in the same order they were first used. This helps show how they were made.

Today, archivists use many rules to help people find things. They use special tools like metadata. Metadata is data that describes a record. This helps people find what they need in a big collection. Archivists even work with digital files now.

They help keep our history safe for a long time.

Archival science is the study of how we build and care for archives.

An archive is a collection of many different things. These can be paper documents, recordings, or even photographs. Some archives are physical, while others are made of digital files. Archivists work hard to find, sort, and protect these materials. They must make sure every record is trustworthy and real. This helps people use the records to learn about the past.

To keep an archive useful, archivists follow a specific way of working. First, they must acquire and evaluate new materials to see if they belong. Then, they work on appraising and storing them safely. This includes using climate-controlled rooms to stop damage. They also use a process called processing to arrange and describe everything. This makes it possible for people to find what they need later. They must also ensure the records are in a usable condition.

This field has a very long history.

In 1540, Jacob von Rammingen wrote the earliest known manual for this work. He was an expert on registries, which are early types of archives. His manual was printed in Heidelberg in 1571. For a long time, people also used the historical manuscripts tradition. This meant organizing items by topic, like a library does. However, this often caused the original context of the items to be lost.

Around 1840, new ideas called provenance changed how archives work.

Provenance means knowing the origin or source of an item. Archivists use a rule called "respect des fonds" to keep groups together. They also use "original order" to keep items in their first arrangement. This helps show how the items were originally used. In 1898, three Dutch archivists wrote a famous text about these ideas. Their work helped make archival arrangement more objective and clear.

Today, archival science is a big part of many universities.

Students often study it under Information Science or History programs. Many famous thinkers have helped shape the field. These include people like Theodore Schellenberg and Sir Hilary Jenkinson. Modern archivists also use digital tools and metadata to help people. Metadata is special data that describes a record for easy searching. This allows us to find history in huge digital databases.

Archival science is the professional study and theory of building and curating archives.

An archive is a collection of various materials. These can be paper documents, recordings, or photographs. Archives may exist in physical formats or digital formats. The field focuses on improving methods for appraising, storing, and preserving these collections. It also covers processing, which involves arranging and describing the materials. This work is essential because archival records must be trustworthy for society. An archivist ensures that materials are authentic, reliable, and usable.

To manage an archive, an archivist follows a specific sequence of steps. First, they must acquire and evaluate new materials to determine their value. Once acquired, the materials undergo appraisal to decide what should be kept. Archivists then work on storing and preserving the items. This often requires climate-controlled storage facilities to prevent decay. After storage, the archivist begins the processing stage. This includes arranging the items and creating descriptions so they can be found. Finally, the archivist must ensure the items are in an accessible location. This entire process is known as archive administration.

One of the most important concepts in this field is provenance. Provenance refers to the origin or the source of a collection. It involves information regarding the ownership and custody of an item. This principle dictates that records from different origins must be kept separate. Keeping them separate preserves the original context of the information. Archivists use two major concepts to apply this principle. The first is "respect des fonds," which treats records from one organization as a single group. The second is "original order," which keeps records in their first arrangement.

This method helps reveal the nature of the activities that created the records.

Archival science has a long and evolving history. It emerged from diplomatics, which is the critical analysis of documents. In 1540, Jacob von Rammingen wrote the earliest known archival manual. He was an expert on registries, or early archives. His manual was printed in Heidelberg in 1571. Before modern principles, many archives used the "historical manuscripts tradition." This tradition organized records by topic, similar to a library. However, this often caused the original context of the records to be lost.

Around 1840, the principles of provenance were adopted in Belgium and France.

The transition to modern methods was solidified by specific scholars and texts. In 1898, three Dutch archivists published a famous manual. Samuel Muller, Johan Feith, and Robert Fruin wrote this text. It provided the first formal description of the principle of provenance. They argued that "original order" was an essential trait for describing archives. This helped move the field toward more objective methods. Over the last century, many thinkers have shaped the discipline. These include Theodore Schellenberg, Sir Hilary Jenkinson, and Terry Cook. Other notable scholars include Verne Harris, Sue McKemmish, and Luciana Duranti.

Because there is no universal law for archives, professionals use various standards. These standards act as working guidelines for different needs. Common guidelines include the ICA standard, the ISO standard, and the DIRKS standard. In Canada, archivists use the Rules for Archival Description, or RAD. In the United States, they often use Describing Archives: A Content Standard, known as DACS. These tools help archivists describe materials consistently. This consistency makes it much easier for the public to access information.

Modern technology has introduced new complexities like digital documents and metadata. Metadata is contextual data that describes a specific record. It helps make archival materials easier to discover and search. Archivists use different standards to structure this metadata. Examples include Machine-Readable Cataloguing, or MARC, and Encoded Archival Description, or EAD. They also use the Dublin Core standard. These digital tools are necessary for managing electronic databases. Today, archival science is taught in many colleges and universities. It is usually studied within Information Science or History programs.