# archiving

> practice of creating archives

**Wikidata**: [Q10418049](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q10418049)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/archiving

## Summary  
Archiving is the practice of creating and maintaining organized collections of records or data for long-term preservation and access. It involves processes like selection, storage, and description to ensure materials remain usable over time.  

## Key Facts  
- Archiving is classified as an activity and a subclass of collections management.  
- It supports preservation efforts across libraries, museums, and digital repositories.  
- Common types include mass archiving, personal digital archiving, and photo archiving.  
- Tools such as SiteSucker, Twapper Keeper, and Archive in a Box support various archiving workflows.  
- Related practices include archivalization (selecting records), storing (creating digital replicas), and disposal (final state of records).  
- Has structured identifiers including Tadirah ID: *archiving*, YSO ID: *1257*, and Art & Architecture Thesaurus ID: *300054627*.  
- Used in both analog and digital contexts, especially for endangered or at-risk content.  
- Sitelink count on Wikidata: 5.  

## FAQs  
### Q: What is the purpose of archiving?  
A: The purpose of archiving is to preserve records or data for future access and use. It ensures that valuable information remains retrievable despite technological changes or physical degradation.  

### Q: How does archiving differ from storing?  
A: Storing focuses on creating digital replicas for accessibility, while archiving emphasizes long-term preservation, contextual documentation, and often includes curation and metadata creation.  

### Q: Is archiving only for physical documents?  
A: No, archiving applies to both physical and digital formats. Digital archiving has become increasingly important with the rise of electronic records, websites, and social media.  

## Why It Matters  
Archiving plays a critical role in safeguarding cultural, historical, and scientific knowledge. In an age of information overload and rapid technological obsolescence, it ensures continuity and accountability by preserving records for researchers, institutions, and future generations. Without archiving, vital data could be lost due to hardware failure, format obsolescence, or institutional neglect. It also supports transparency in governance, reproducibility in research, and identity preservation in communities.  

## Notable For  
- Being a foundational component of digital humanities and research data management.  
- Supporting interoperability through tools like Open Harvester Systems and standards such as the Open Archives Initiative.  
- Enabling personal stewardship via personal digital archiving methods.  
- Facilitating mass-scale preservation through systems like mass archiving and web harvesting tools.  
- Having formalized definitions and identifiers used in international vocabularies and knowledge systems.  

## Body  
### Definition and Scope  
Archiving refers to the practice of creating archives—organized collections of records or data preserved for long-term access and use. It spans both analog and digital domains and is essential in libraries, museums, government agencies, and academic institutions.  

### Relationship to Other Practices  
Archiving is closely related to but distinct from several other information management practices:  
- **Collections Management**: Archiving is a subclass of collections management, which includes acquisition, curation, and deaccessioning.  
- **Preservation**: While preservation aims to prolong the life of objects, archiving adds organizational and descriptive layers.  
- **Storing**: Storing creates digital copies; archiving builds upon this with metadata, context, and long-term planning.  
- **Disposal**: Disposal marks the endpoint of a record’s lifecycle, sometimes involving transfer into an archive.  

### Types of Archiving  
Several specialized forms exist depending on scope and medium:  
- **Mass Archiving**: Deals with large volumes of digital data, often copied from endangered web resources.  
- **Personal Digital Archiving**: Focused on individuals managing their own digital records.  
- **Photo Archiving**: Specifically concerned with still images and associated metadata.  
- **Archivalization**: The act of selecting and preparing records for inclusion in an archive.  

### Tools and Technologies  
Various software platforms facilitate different aspects of archiving:  
- **SiteSucker** – Downloads entire websites for offline preservation.  
- **Twapper Keeper / Your Twapper Keeper** – Archives tweets using hashtags or keywords.  
- **Archive in a Box** – Self-hosted community-based data repository solution.  
- **Open Harvester Systems** – Indexes metadata from compliant archives using OAI-PMH.  
- **DEVONthink**, **NoodleTools**, and **Editors’ Notes** – Support personal and collaborative research data organization.  

### Standards and Identifiers  
Archiving is recognized globally through standardized terminology and classification systems:  
- **Tadirah ID**: `archiving`  
- **YSO ID**: `1257`, labeled as “action with an object”  
- **Art & Architecture Thesaurus ID**: `300054627`  
- **Dictionary of Archives Terminology ID**: `archiving`  
- Referenced in multilingual contexts including Swedish (*arkivering*), Finnish (*arkistointi*), and Spanish (*archivación*)  

```json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Thing",
  "name": "archiving",
  "description": "practice of creating archives",
  "sameAs": [
    "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q6683520"
  ],
  "additionalType": "activity"
}

## References

1. YSO-Wikidata mapping project
2. [Source](https://vocabs.dariah.eu/tadirah/archiving)
3. Wikibase TDKIV