Regionaal Archief Alkmaar (RAA) is a joint arrangement that operates within a large region in the province of
Noord-Holland. The first purpose of this arrangement is to fulfill the function of a regional knowledge and information center through the acquisition and preservation of a broad collection of historical sources. The second purpose is to make these sources actively available. It does so according to the Dutch Public Records Act (Archiefwet 1995).
At the time of writing, the joint arrangement services include 9 municipalities, namely: Alkmaar, Bergen, Castricum, Den Helder, Heiloo, Hollands Kroon, Schagen, Dijk en Waard and Texel. The arrangement also includes other joint arrangements. These are the GGD Hollands Noorden and Veiligheidsregio Noord-Holland Noord. Also, the RAA keeps the archives of the water authority Hoogheemraadschap Hollands Noorderkwartier and its predecessors. This is being done on the basis of a service agreement.
Finally many archives of families, persons of interest, companies and non-governmental organizations are being collected and managed. This is a secondary task of the RAA, but these archives are also being managed on the ground of the Dutch Public Records Act.