Business Archives Section

The Business Archives Section (BAS) comprises of archivists active in the work of the Society of American Archivists (SAA) with common interests in business archives management. The Business Archives Section includes corporate, business, and noprofit employees administering and providing access to historical or archival records. The conduct of business for this section is guided by the standing rules maintained on this site.

Business Archives in North America: Invest in Your Future, Understand Your Past provides a brief explanation of business archives and the archivist's role in developing, collecting and maintaining the records of business entities.  If you are interested in business archives, this article is a good place to start. 


2024/2025 Election Results

Vice Chair/Chair Elect: Alison Quirion, Santa Monica Studio

Vice Editor/Editor Elect: Sam Citarella, Tiffany & Co.

Secretary: Stephanie Branas, Best Friends Animal Society

Education Chair: Samantha Bradbeer Stephens, Hallmark Cards, Inc.

Member at Large: Michael Bullington, McDonalds Corporation


Other Steering Committee members include:

Past Chair: Jennifer Henderson, Hershey Community Archives

Chair: Dave Moore, Carhartt

Editor: Jennifer Steinhardt, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

 

Advocating For Business Archives Toolkit

The BAS Steering Committee is pleased to publish the first version of the "Advocating for Business Archives Toolkit".  Advocating for one's self and archival collection is a constant effort, and unfortunately there's no silver bullet that will work for every business archives every time.  As stated in the 2013 defense of the Georgia State Archives, "Too often, advocacy is effectively crisis management, responding to specfic events.  Proactively developing a plan allows time to consider a range of options, find ways to refine the message, and identify and educate a broad range of stakeholders."

Therefore the intent of this page is to provide Business Archives Section (BAS) members with a resource center to allow development of individualized advocacy plans to avert future issues, and if necessary to successfully "win the day".  There is a wealth of advocacy information available, and this list is not exhaustive but merely a starting place for you develop your own policies.  Materials listed and provided are not endorsed by BAS, but rather provide solid examples for you to consider leveraging.  

We welcome your suggestions and additions!  Send them to bascontent@gmail.com.  


  Stay Up to Speed with Business Archives News!BAS SM

BAS has pages on FacebookLinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter! Join the conversation and network with your colleagues over social media!  Please use these sites to post any stories, articles, job postings or content related to business archives that you run across the web and want to share.  

We kindly ask not to use these sites as a platform to solicit or sell products or services. 

Image courtesy of Microsoft Office

We'd love your input on our social media channels.  Please feel out the forms below if you'd like to be featured in our "Meet the Archivists" series or have a submission for "Overheard in the Archives."

Meet the Archivists Submission Form

Overheard in the Archives Submission Form


Frequently Asked Questions: please click here

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

News & Announcements

Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) is the largest trade organization in the United States, with over 1.3 million members. The association’s mission is to “help its members become more profitable and successful” through professional development, research and education, public awareness campaigns, and political advocacy.
Repository profile of W. L. Gore & Associates based in Newark, Delaware
Are you seeking an opportunity to expand your network and get further involved in the business archives community? If so, come join the Steering Committee and see what the fun is all about!
The archival program at Atlanta Housing (AH) began October 2014. The AH Archives collects and preserves records of permanent and historical value dating back to the 1930’s. These records document the history of AH, the early history of public housing, the history of the United States’ first federally funded public housing projects beginning in Atlanta, and the innovative role AH played in shaping public housing policy and history.
Nearly 30 corporate and religious archivists from the MARAC region and beyond gathered at our spring conference in Hershey for MARAC’s second ever Business Archives Forum
Repository Spotlight: As Delta flies into its 90th anniversary of passenger service in 2019, the historical collections of the company continue to grow more accessible and active than ever.
Kerri Anne Burke of the Citigroup Center for Culture, Bob Clark of the Rockefeller Archives Center and L.J. Strumpf of the IBM Archives spoke at the Spring 2018 joint meeting of the New England Archivists and Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York.
Samantha Bradbeer spends her days at Hallmark making sure that an accurate and varied record of company, family, and product history is preserved for future generations.
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2020 BAS Standing Rules126.13 KB
2020 Recommended Changes to BAS Standing Rules100.31 KB
BAS Industry Call on Exhibitions Transcript - April 27, 2020145.05 KB