diff --git a/asdf/_asdf.py b/asdf/_asdf.py
index 931a8abbf..61ad2e735 100644
--- a/asdf/_asdf.py
+++ b/asdf/_asdf.py
@@ -75,7 +75,8 @@ def __init__(
         ignore_version_mismatch=True,
         ignore_unrecognized_tag=False,
         ignore_implicit_conversion=NotSet,
-        memmap=False,
+        memmap=NotSet,
+        copy_arrays=NotSet,
         lazy_load=True,
         custom_schema=None,
     ):
@@ -117,6 +118,13 @@ def __init__(
 
         memmap : bool, optional
             When `True`, when reading files, attempt to memmap underlying data
+            arrays when possible. When set, this argument will override
+            ``copy_arrays``. The default will change to ``False`` in an upcoming
+            ASDF version.
+
+        copy_arrays : bool, optional
+            Deprecated; use ``memmap`` instead.
+            When `False`, when reading files, attempt to memmap underlying data
             arrays when possible.
 
         lazy_load : bool, optional
@@ -170,6 +178,13 @@ def __init__(
         self._fd = None
         self._closed = False
         self._external_asdf_by_uri = {}
+        # if memmap is set, it overrides copy_arrays
+        if copy_arrays is not NotSet:
+            warnings.warn("copy_arrays is deprecated; use memmap instead", AsdfDeprecationWarning)
+            if memmap is NotSet:
+                memmap = not copy_arrays
+        elif memmap is NotSet:
+            memmap = True
         self._blocks = BlockManager(uri=uri, lazy_load=lazy_load, memmap=memmap)
         # this message is passed into find_references to only warn if
         # a reference was found
diff --git a/asdf/_tests/test_array_blocks.py b/asdf/_tests/test_array_blocks.py
index 407bc18bb..2efc4d85b 100644
--- a/asdf/_tests/test_array_blocks.py
+++ b/asdf/_tests/test_array_blocks.py
@@ -811,9 +811,15 @@ def filename_with_array(tmp_path_factory):
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
     "open_kwargs,should_memmap",
     [
-        ({}, False),
+        ({}, True),
         ({"memmap": True}, True),
         ({"memmap": False}, False),
+        ({"copy_arrays": True}, False),
+        ({"copy_arrays": False}, True),
+        ({"memmap": True, "copy_arrays": True}, True),
+        ({"memmap": True, "copy_arrays": False}, True),
+        ({"memmap": False, "copy_arrays": True}, False),
+        ({"memmap": False, "copy_arrays": False}, False),
     ],
 )
 def test_open_no_memmap(filename_with_array, open_kwargs, should_memmap):
@@ -821,6 +827,8 @@ def test_open_no_memmap(filename_with_array, open_kwargs, should_memmap):
     Test that asdf.open does not (or does) return memmaps for arrays
     depending on a number of arguments including:
         default (no kwargs)
+        copy_arrays
+        memmap (overwrites copy_arrays)
         memmap
     """
     with asdf.open(filename_with_array, lazy_load=False, **open_kwargs) as af:
diff --git a/docs/asdf/arrays.rst b/docs/asdf/arrays.rst
index a2900a981..4a1a6843e 100644
--- a/docs/asdf/arrays.rst
+++ b/docs/asdf/arrays.rst
@@ -273,10 +273,10 @@ different compression algorithm when writing the file out again.
 Memory mapping
 --------------
 
-Internal array data can be memory mapped using `numpy.memmap`, by setting
-``memmap=True`` in either the `AsdfFile` constructor or `asdf.open`. This allows
-for the efficient use of memory even when reading files with very large arrays.
-The use of memory mapping means that the following usage pattern is not permitted:
+By default, all internal array data is memory mapped using `numpy.memmap`. This
+allows for the efficient use of memory even when reading files with very large
+arrays. The use of memory mapping means that the following usage pattern is not
+permitted:
 
 .. code::
 
@@ -290,3 +290,7 @@ The use of memory mapping means that the following usage pattern is not permitte
 Specifically, if an ASDF file has been opened using a ``with`` context, it is not
 possible to access the file contents outside of the scope of that context,
 because any memory mapped arrays will no longer be available.
+
+It may sometimes be useful to copy array data into memory instead of using
+memory maps. This can be controlled by passing ``memmap=False`` to either
+the `AsdfFile` constructor or `asdf.open`. By default, ``memmap=True``.