Frequently Asked Questions
What are business archives?
Business archives are the records created, received and accumulated by a business, or business-like organisation, in the course of conducting its affairs which have been earmarked for permanent preservation for their historical and evidential value.
Where are business archives kept?
Many business archives are still retained by the company to which they belong. However, business archives can also be found in national archives, local records offices, university and specialist repositories, museums and libraries. In the UK there is no single, central place in which business archives are kept.What are corporate archives?
Corporate archives are the in-house archive departments maintained by businesses. The records they contain may include corporate and administrative papers (including legal papers), financial records, staff records, research, manufacturing, sales and marketing records and occasionally family papers. The records can be in various formats. Generally they are paper-based, but increasingly film, audio, video, photographic, microform and electronic records are also preserved. In 2005 there are over 60 corporate archives listed on ARCHON, the online directory of UK archives and record-holding institutions managed by The National Archives (TNA) at www.archon.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archon/.
Why do businesses keep archives?
Archives represent the corporate memory of an organisation, a vital knowledge base from which past experience and activities can be drawn on to guide and support present actions and decisions for the future. Archives are valuable company assets and many corporate archive departments exist to ensure that they are preserved and accessible; without this facility these irreplaceable records would not be used and would be vulnerable to loss, damage or even destruction. Corporate archive staff often work as part of, or in liaison with, a company’s records management team.
There are many different ways in which a company may use its archive:
- to provide evidence of past events to inform future decision making
- to provide legal protection, e.g. in proving trade marks
- to educate staff about the development and organisation of the business
- as a source of inspiration, information and images e.g. for marketing and speeches
- to celebrate anniversaries of companies, products and buildings
- to answer external heritage enquiries
- to demonstrate good corporate responsibility
How can I find out more about business archives?
One of the quickest ways to identify corporate archives is to use ARCHON, TNA’s online directory of UK archives and record-holding institutions. Not all business archives appear on ARCHON, but a growing number do. Collections of business records can be tracked down using TNA’s online National Register of Archives or archive portals like A2A. Janet Foster & Julia Sheppard, British Archives (London, 2004) also lists most kinds of archive repository in the UK.
The Business Archives Council (BAC) and the Business Archives Council of Scotland (BACS) are two charities established to encourage the preservation and use of business archives. Both the BAC and the BACS provide advice and assistance to business on the management of business archives and produce series of useful publications. Further information is available on their websites. BAC: www.businessarchivescouncil.org.uk and BACS: www.gla.ac.uk.archives/bacs/.
Last modified 21/09/2008
