Archival Basics

Archives are becoming increasingly important in our society. Thus it is helpful to understand some of the basic distinctions used by archives. A key distinction for an archives has to do with access, for access is everything in archival work. If the materials preserved cannot be accessed, there is no reason for preserving them. Access can be comprehended in two aspects:
Physical Access: Understandably, an archives must first have possession of a set of materials. Every archives will have a policy statement that defines and limits what it will collect. With this in hand, the institution is then guided in what it seeks to acquire. For collections that are donated, ownership is then confirmed through the deed of gift. Physical access also means that an archives must properly care for its collections, providing for efficient storage and retrieval.
Intellectual Access: The greater work of an archives however is in providing intellectual access. In processing a collection, an index is prepared. This index, or "finding aid" then becomes the key means of locating materials within the archives. Many of the finding aids for the PCA Historical Center's collections can be found online and these are linked from our collection index.

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