The term 'archive' can have a number of different meanings that all depend on the situation. Before exploring what archives are we must first go over the meanings of the different terms.
The word 'archives' can be used to refer to the 'archive repository'. This is where a collection of archive material are held and stored. Repositories are established by organizations, institutional bodies, and individual people. Archive repositories are responsible for managing, preserving, and providing access to the archival materials held within.
The word 'archives' can be used to describe a collection of archival material. These collections are created by a single organization or an individual. These collections are then stored within the archival repository.
The term 'archives' can also be used to describe items at a singular level, also known as 'archival material'. These individual archival materials make up collections which are stored in repositories. The term archival material, can describe anything that has historical value, including, paper documents, photographs, physical items, etc.