Here are some things to know about archives:

Archives differ from libraries because:

• Stacks are closed, researchers can not walk through and pull items from shelves.
• Most information is primary source material and unique to the repository they are housed in.
• Materials can not leave the archives.

Archival collections:

• Are organized by "provenance" or original order meaning, the records are left the way the creator of the collection used them.
• Are arranged hierarchically. This means one collection can be divided in to several smaller sections called series and sub-series. Finally each series and sub-series has it own arrangement which could be chronological, alphabetical, numerical or other way.
• Are described by finding aids. Finding aids describe, how the collection was processed, date ranges of materials and restrictions. Biographical information is included for personal manuscript collections. Scope and content notes provide detailed information about arrangement and informational content, collection highlights, and occasionally topic terms and related subjects.
• Provide a wealth of untapped primary source materials to be used in original research.