Repository for an organized body of records. Archives are produced or received by a public, semipublic, institutional, or business entity in the transaction of its affairs and are preserved by it or its successors. The modern institution of archives and archival administration dates from the late 18th century, when national and departmental archives were established in France.
In the U.S. the National Archives was established in 1934 to house the retired records of the national government; the Federal Records Act of 1950 authorized regional records repositories. Each U.S. state has its own archival agency. Archivists in the 20th century increasingly handled records involving new technologies, such as computer-kept records and motion pictures, as well as the records of businesses, institutions, and individuals.
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