In American usage the term archives is gernerally a plural or collective noun, although the form archives has been applied to a number of special collections.
Inclusive dates express the entire range of dates covered by the records or collection.
Bulk dates express the dates covered by the bulk of the materials in the records or collection. Bulk dates are often set off by parentheses when they are used in a finding aid. In this example the inclusive dates are 1837-1912 but most of the material falls between 1845 and 1870. The descriptive media, published and unpublished, created by an originating office, an archival agency, or manuscript repository, to establish physical or administrative and intellectual control over records and other holdings. The Inventory usually includes an historical sketch of the institution or division of the institution whose records are being described, a scope and content note, and a series description.