arkhiva

An arkhiva is a repository of records and documents preserved for historical, legal, or administrative value. It typically contains primary sources such as manuscripts, correspondence, government records, photographs, maps, and audiovisual materials, organized to support research, accountability, and cultural preservation.

The term arkhiva and its cognates appear in several languages, including Greek and various Balkan and Slavic languages, where it denotes archives or archive collections. The term derives from older words for public records offices and is related to the English "archive."

Archives differ from libraries in that they primarily preserve unique, non-replaceable items and provide finding aids, provenance, and context. They are often governed by records-management policies, appraisal, selection, and accession procedures; materials may be arranged by custodian, topic, or date. Finding aids include catalogs, inventories, and metadata to support discovery and interpretation.

In the digital era, arkhiva increasingly include born-digital materials and digital surrogates. Key concerns include authenticity, integrity, metadata standards, long-term preservation strategies, and access policies. Common standards and practices involve metadata schemes such as ISAD(G), Dublin Core, and PREMIS, as well as institutional and national policies.

National archives, university archives, and corporate archives maintain arkhiva. Some arkhiva are open to researchers and the public, while others have restricted access.