What is the difference between an archive and a collection?
An accumulation of papers that evolved consistently over time a bound journal with daily entries over a twenty-year span or a packet of weekly letters written home by a soldier in World War II, for example has an archival credibility that distinguishes it from a “collection.” A collection is by definition, something consciously orchestrated. Such a gathering of individual items or groups is often of great interest and value, and collected items can often be authenticated. But the context identifiable provenance and original order of an archival group gives it special trustworthiness.
