Basic Archival Concepts

Below are some key terms and concepts to know and understand when approaching archival projects and practices. ^[1]

Accession: The transfer of physical and legal custody of documented materials to an archival institution and done so in a single action

Archival Appraisal: The process to determine if documented materials can and should be aquisitioned by an archival institution (and length of time?)

Archival Value: The value of documented materials that are preserved in an archival institution

Primary Value: The value of the records that were created or received

Secondary Value: The significance of the records based on their purpose apart from which they were originally created

Provenance:   Records of differing origins should be kept separately to preserve their

Original order: Records are maintained in the order they were placed by the individual or organization that created the records and the way they were received by the donor