Archives are among the key institutions of political and cultural memory. They initiate and host research and facilitate public dialogue. Following the decline of grand theories, archives are experiencing a resurgence. A reflective interest in materiality and practice is leading the cultural and humanities sciences into the archive. The idea and institution, theory and practice, concept and metaphor of the archive are thoroughly captured in this handbook. Public archival functions in Germany and contemporary Western Europe are embedded in a global context and compared with private practices of collecting and cataloging. The archive handbook provides a solid historical overview and expert assessments of the latest developments in conservation and copyright, the handling of digital storage media, and archival equipment.