ABSTRACTThis paper explores the conceptual relationship between archives and canonization by amending Aleida Assmann's cultural memory framework of Canon and Archive to consider ongoing debates in archival theory and practice. The process of canonization concerns the selection, value, and duration of cultural memory. The formation and function of archives are marked by processes of appraisal (record evaluation and selection), acquisition (record transfer), and preservation (record duration). Placing A. Assmann's framework in conversation with the informational frameworks of de Fremery and Buckland, we observe how at any given time (a past/present context), records (documents) are selected (perception) because of their value in signaling memories and community histories (affordances) while serving as a durable medium for restabilizing identities (use) across time (a present/future context).