Thus, Archives can refer to archival material as well as the institution that preserves and makes the material accessible. The Archives is open to all members of the public, free of charge. Archives can be described as the collective memory of a community. This resource is held in trust for the public and for future generations. Sorry, original material must only be used in the Archives reference room.
Archives are, by definition unique.
If they are lost, they cannot be replaced. However, through public outreach programs, such as this web site, archival material can be made widely available without risk to the originals. Archives can be in any format. Most of the holdings at the Richmond Archives are textual records, but there are also large numbers of photographs, maps, architectural records, sound recordings and some moving images. The City of Richmond Archives is the official repository for the records of the City government.