ABSTRACT
The archives profession is old and well established. Without archives, much of the world's cultural and historical heritage would be lost. In contrast to libraries, archives collect one-of-a-kind unpublished documents such as diaries, letters, legal papers, and oral histories — the primary documents upon which scholarship is based. Archival work is organized around five tasks: acquisition, description, rights management, preservation, and access. A repository is a physical site where documents are kept. It can be as tiny as a file cabinet drawer or as large as a national library. Archives are generally underfunded, and archivists spend much of their time justifying budget requests. The needs of oral histories are especially misunderstood. Staffing a small archive can be a big problem, and may be a reason for turning the collection over to a larger institution. Meticulous record keeping is essential to a well-managed archive.
