Value Proposition for Establishing
Archives or Other Historical Programs in Your Organization
by Glenn Bugos
PART III - Models of Corporate Activity in IT History
Firm Archival Foundations
Hewlett Packard and Agilent both have corporate history programs that are widely
respected—both within the corporation and among professional historians.
HP leaders relied upon these archives for decades and, when the companies split
in 1999, they fought vigorously over who got the archive. These are well-rounded
history programs and support the entire range of corporate needs—customer
relations, R&D, strategy, litigation, records management, and public affairs.
Outreach-Driven History
Intel’s history program revolves around its Museum, which
attracts thousand of visitors and school groups each year. Designed
as a teaching museum where visitors learn the science of semiconductors,
it conveys the story of the industry as though it was--as it
in fact was--pioneered by Intel. To collect material for new
exhibits, Intel maintains an active oral history and archive
program.
Leveraging University Historians
Some corporations stand at a greater distance from the debates
over their history, and leverage the value of academic research.
Apple Computer, understanding that there will always be broad
interest in its history, donated its archive to Stanford University.
Before the archive was delivered to Stanford, Apple librarians
had compiled and inventoried it. Into this archive, historians
will bring their own questions, they will have free access
to the materials, and when they publish Apple will have the
benefit of their unexpected insights.
The Essence of History
Timelines distill the essence of corporate history, present it
to a wide audience, with great visual impact. Because events
on the timeline are so highly selected they are vigorously
debated—which moments convey significance, which names
or products typify a trend, how to date something which was
years coming to fruition. Symantec recently published a 25th
anniversary timeline, which nicely displayed its continuing
dedication to its core mission of protecting digital assets.
Pioneers Bring a Personal Tone
Personal papers of industry pioneers often encompass the histories
of many firms. These collections must be culled, arranged and
inventoried--before they can be insured, appraised, or deposited
with an appropriate university or museum archive. Charlie Litton’s
personal papers, donated to the Bancroft Library at the University
of California, make clear his companies’ roles in launching
the vacuum tube industry in Silicon Valley.
Anniversaries Broaden Conversations
The Control Data Corporation and Burroughs Corporation both rely
upon the Charles Babbage Institute of the University of Minnesota.
As they were being acquired by other firms, both CDC and Burroughs
donated their massive archives to CBI which makes them
available to historians as well as former employees. A 50th
anniversary celebration of the founding of CDC used materials
at CBI to shine a spotlight on its role in supercomputing
and data storage.
Employee Publications Engender Pride
The IBM facility in Rochester, Minnesota created some very successful
mid-range computers, like the AS/400. Arthur Norberg and Jeff
Yost of the Charles Babbage Institute wrote a 50-page history
of IBM Rochester. It was widely distributed to company employees,
customers, and vendors, and is available on the CBI
website.
Professional Societies Span Many Firms
The quickest way to grasp broad trends in any industry—both
historically and in real-time—often is through professional
societies and trade groups. The Software History Center, now
affiliated with the Computer History Museum, has nicely leveraged
the networks built around trade groups by bringing together industry
leaders for group and individual oral histories. They have produced
several high impact histories—of the financial services
industry, on PC word procession, the relational database software
industry, and data processing and computer consultant firms.
PART I - The Value Proposition for Corporate
History
PART
II - Getting Started on Corporate History
|
