By means of close examination of the records created and accumulated by individual architects and architectural firms in France, this Records and Archives Management Programme (RAMP) study is intended to call attention to the basic documentary values of these architectural records and to provide practical guidance to help ensure their preservation until they can be transferred to archival custody. The purpose and scope of the manual are discussed, general archival definitions are provided, and the study is presented in five parts which correspond to the various stages in the life of documents as considered from the standpoint of archives: (1) the project designer/supervisor (prime contractor) and the stages in the preparation of files; (2) the composition of a file, based on an examination of a file on the construction of the Departmental Records Office, Seine-Saint-Denis; (3) appraisal and preservation; (4) classification and finding aids; and (5) physical preservation. A 55-item bibliography of RAMP publications and related documents is provided. In addition, appendices include samples of documentation from several French archives and from the Staatsarchiv Wertheim, a listing (in French) of national and international standards, and a 47-item annotated bibliography, also in French. (KM)