Archive: A physical or digital collection of historical records. A conceptual storehouse of recorded knowledge with social and political significance that generally controls meaning and discourse.
Archival Arrangement: The process of organizing materials with respect to their provenance and original order, to protect their context and to achieve physical and intellectual control over the materials.
Collection: Materials assembled by a person, organization, or repository from a variety of sources; an artificial collection.
Copyright: A legal right protecting the interests of creators or their assignees by granting them control over the reproduction, publication, adaptation, exhibition, or performance of their works.
Descriptive Element: A word, phrase, or group of characters representing a distinct unit of information that forms part of an area of formal description.
Finding Aid: A description that typically consists of contextual and structural information about an archival resource or collection.
Manuscript: A handwritten or unpublished document. An author’s draft of a book, article, or other work submitted for publication.
Original Order: The organization and sequence of records established by the creator of the records.
Provenance: Information regarding the origins, custody, and ownership of an item or collection.
Rare Book: A book known to exist in only a few copies may have value if it has importance and is in demand.
Reading Room: A secure space area designed for patrons to work with a repository's holdings.
Record: Information or data created or received by an organization or individual in the course of activities.
Series: A group of similar records that are arranged according to a filing system and that are related as the result of being created, received, or used in the same activity.
Special Collection: libraries or library units that house materials requiring specialized security and user services
Definitions adapted from the Society of American Archivist's Glossary of Terms. Full definitions and citations can be viewed here.