Archives Alive!: What are archives?
Guide content supports the teaching and research goals of multiple departments on campus. Content represents a non-exhaustive selection of essential resources and tools for engaging a wide range of backgrounds and viewpoints.
Terminology
Archives are collections of original documents accumulated and saved over time.
Collection guides or finding aids are the tools used to describe archival material so researchers can find them.
Primary sources are original documents created during an event or by someone with firsthand experience of that event.
Research value is the informational usefulness of a document.
For more archival vocabulary, check the Society of American Archivists Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology.
What is an archive?
Publicly Available Digital Archives
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DIY HistoryAn online University of Iowa collection of various artifacts.
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Iowa Digital LibraryThe Iowa Digital Library features more than a million digital objects created from the holdings of the University of Iowa Libraries and its campus partners.
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The National ArchivesThe US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) preserves and provides public access to high-value government records.
Archives are...
Guide Credit
This guide was originally created by Katie DeVries.