Documenting Small Businesses
Prepared by the Central New York Library Resources Council Documentary Heritage Committee 1998/99.
Introduction 
"The Chief Business of the American People is Business" - Calvin Coolidge
Maybe you are just starting a business or maybe your business has been in the family for several generations. Either way, you might be asking yourself: why should I keep my business records? Why is this booklet important to read?
First, you probably are already keeping some records for legal, administrative or financial reasons. But, you can do more with your records!
Well organized records will help you:
- provide proof of activities in courts of law
- accumulate publicity items for your firm
- study developments and trends
- brief a new employee on the history of your organization
Down the road, your business records can be used by researchers to tell a piece of the history of your region.
Your records can tell historians:
- who founded the business and why?
- who worked or shopped there?
- what service was provided or what product was made?
- how the business changed over the years?
From the local trade of goods and services in the 18th & 19th centuries to the global markets of today, business has influenced the way people work, play and live in the United States. Small businesses have had a great impact on communities across America, from the local "Mom and Pop" grocery store to the stores that start out small and grow to be giants in the industry.
It is important to know the histories of these businesses - who began them, and why, where they were located, who worked or shopped there, what services were offered, and what product was produced. Documenting your business will help future generations understand what life was like today, and illustrate changes including growth, decline, or revitalization in the region.
Small businesses have a recognizable and valuable place in the community and the surrounding area's life. A small business's history; its activities, people, and relationships in its village, town or city need to be preserved and made accessible for future generations.
This booklet was created to help you recognize the importance of your business' history and to give suggestions on how to begin to document it in a simple, understandable manner.
Why Should Small Businesses be Documented?
Business history tells a great deal about our past. It can serve as a window into the happenings in our community and personal lives. Through the documents saved by your business, historians, researchers, and students can gain insight into what was important in our daily lives, such as what we were eating, wearing, and doing.
Not only can we learn about the business itself, but your records can tell historians
- who lived in the community around the factory, store or office?
- who left the neighborhood and why?
- if changes in the neighborhood led to changes in the product or services offered?
In addition, since the history of a small business is often a family history, with members providing the initial staffing or investment dollars for the company, we can learn about individual families as we research the business they owned. As individuals, the local businessperson was often an influential presence in the community, through politics, church, schools and social organizations.
What Records to Keep
The most difficult task in a business archive is deciding what records to keep. Businesses create large amounts of paper work each year, but only a small amount of the total number of records produced have any lasting historical value. To identify what is important, the person reviewing the records should begin by asking the questions:
- why was the business first formed?
- what were/are its priorities?
- who had influence over the company?
- why has the business succeeded?
- how has it changed?
- what role has it played within the community?
Records which answer these questions might have historical significance and should be considered for permanent safekeeping.
There are two general categories of records created by organizations: items having permanent value and items having temporary value. There are usually a greater number of items in the second category. The following lists are intended as a guide to help sort your business records. Because businesses vary greatly in size and scope, your organization may not have all of the records listed.
Permanent Records of Lasting Value
(Items are listed in alphabetical order, not by order of
importance)
- Advertisement/Marketing Records
- Anniversary Publications
- Annual Reports
- Awards, Memorials and Citations with Accompanying Documentation
- Board of Directors Minutes
- Building or Property Records: Deeds, Surveys,
- Architectural Drawings
- Committee Reports
- Correspondence
- Day Books/Logs
- Diaries and Journals
- Financial/Accounting Records
- General Business Ledgers and Journals
- Legal Documents: Contracts, Patents, Insurance Policies, etc.
- Licenses/Permits
- Memorabilia such as awards, T-shirts, anniversary celebrations, and ephemera (e.g.: posters, tickets, etc.)
- Minutes of Meetings
- Newspaper Clippings- make sure they are labeled with the date, publication and page number.
- Operating Documents: Charter, Constitution and By laws, including all amendments and revisions
- Oral Histories - tapes and transcriptions
- Organizational Charts
- Personnel Records, including directories
- Photographs - try to date them and identify place and people
- Policy and Procedural Manuals
- Product Information
- Publications: Bulletins, Newsletters, etc. (keep 2-5 copies of each)
- Scrapbooks
- Special Project Reports
- Strategic Planning Statements
Temporary Records
These may usually be discarded after a brief period unless they are the only records left.
- Acknowledgments
- Announcements of Meetings
- Applications
- Ballots
- Bank Statements
- Bills
- Budget Work Papers
- Canceled Checks
- Casual Memoranda
- Invoices
- Manuscript Versions of Publications, Articles or Published Speeches
- Payroll notices
- Receipts
- Reservations and Confirmations
- Routine Correspondence
- Schedules
- Tickets
- Time Books and Payroll Records
- Vouchers
Choices and Actions
In some cases, if your organization has not regularly saved records on its history, choices of what to keep may be as simple as keeping everything that you find. If confronted with a large amount of records, sorting the records is easiest if you can gather all of the records in one place for storage, assign a person with good organizational skills to work with the records, and complete a brief survey of the records. Knowing which records are likely to be of lasting value will help the "historian" manage the documents.
Your choices will include documents that...
- reveal changes in the business's activity
- identify personnel
- illuminate operational changes and
- shed light on the activities of employees, clients and/or vendors
These records document who was involved in the business, and when, and identifies the muscle and mind behind the enterprise.
Remember...
Keep documents arranged as used in the business's practice.
Keep them in a stable environment, 50% relative humidity, 65-70 F.
Keep them away from pipes, bright lights and direct sunlight.
If possible store all records in approved archival containers ("acid free," "permanent/durable" folders and boxes)
For more information on selecting, arranging and describing your records or recommendations for storage materials, please call your local Historical Society or the New York State Documentary Heritage Program Regional Archivist for your region.
Placing Business Records in a Repository
What if your organization doesn't have enough space or time to devote to the records? Or in the unfortunate event that your business closes- who will care for your records? How can you insure the preservation and care of your business records?
(Please Do Not Throw Them Away!) You can transfer the records to an appropriate repository that will care for your materials and make them accessible for research, such as an historical society, college or university archives or public library.
Letting go of your business records may seem like a very difficult step to take. You may wish to make copies of some items to keep. Once in a repository, documents will be as safe from fire and water damage, theft, disarrangement and environmental degradation as it is humanly possible to make them. Any restrictions you place on access will be upheld.
Resources
The following brief guide includes selected reliable sources that offer concise and practical advice for the person whose responsibilities include the care and arrangement of a business's documents. Many of the resources include their own bibliographies. All of these materials are available through interlibrary loan or directly through the Documentary Heritage Program of the Central New York Library Resources Council (CLRC).
- Archives and You: The Benefits of Historical Records. State University of New York, New York State Archives and Records Administration, 1990.
- A 12-page introduction to the importance of historical records in contemporary society.
- Arranging and Describing Archives and Manuscripts. Frederic M. Miller. Society of American Archivists, 1990.
- A detailed introduction to organizing historical documents, part of the SAA's Archival Fundamental Series.
- Let the Record Show: Practical Uses for Historical Documents. New York State Archives and Records Administration, 1989.
- A 15 minute videotape introducing the importance of historical documents in contemporary life. It can be used with "Archives and You."
- A Manual for Small Archives. Association of British Columbia Archivists, 1988.
- A loose-leaf manual with a great deal of practical information for the person responsible for historical documents.
- The Records of American Business. James M. O'Toole, editor. Society of American Archivists, 1997.
- A collection of essays dealing with issues of the location of the archives program, appraisal, and the impact of computers on making and keeping records. The focus is primarily on large, corporate archives, but many of the problems presented are a concern for all archivists.
- Understanding Archives and Manuscripts. James M. O'Toole. Society of American Archivists, 1990.
- A detailed introduction to the importance of keeping history including a chapter on "The Archivist's Tasks: Responsibilities and Duties," part of the SAA's Archival Fundamentals Series.
- Business Archives: An Introduction. Edie Hedlin. Society of American Archivists, 1978.
- Business Archives in North America. Society of American Archivists, 1991.
- Prepared by SAA's Business Archives Section, this brochure explains the importance of building and maintaining business archives.
- Managing Business Archives. Colleen Pritchard, ed. Society of American Archivists, 1988.
- This brief publication summarizes the information required for managing business archives.
- A Selected and Annotated Bibliography on Business Archives and Records Management. Karen M. Benedict. Society of American Archivists, 1992.
- This revised and updated reference covers the field of business archives.
Organizations
Susan Hughes, Regional Archivist
E-mail
Central New York Library Resources Council (CLRC)
6493 Ridings Road, Syracuse, NY 13206
Tel: 315/446-5446
Fax: 315/446-5590
CLRC Web site
The CLRC Regional Archivist is charged with working with organizations that collect and preserve historical records, and with organizations that create records which will have historical value to future generations such as businesses, civic groups and clubs.
New York State Archives
Documentary Heritage Services
9B38 Cultural Education Center
Albany, NY 12230
Tel: 518/474-4372
Fax: 518/473-4941
State Archives web site
Northeast Document Conservation Center
100 Brickstone Square, Andover, MA 01810
Tel: 508/470-1010
NEDCC Web site
NEDCC offers technical advice, contractual services, and training in the conservation of historical materials.
Gaylord Bros.
Box 4901
Syracuse, NY 13221-4901
Tel: 315/451-4760
Gaylord Web site
Gaylord is a local archival products company which offers free advice from a book/paper conservator and librarian through the "Gaylord Help Line." 1-800-428-2631.
Society of American Archivists
527 S. Wells Street, 5th Floor
Chicago, IL 60607
Tel: 312/922-0140
SAA Web site
The SAA is North America's oldest and largest national archival professional association. They offer brochures such as "Who is the I in Archives?" and "Donating Your Organizational Records to a Repository."
Posted on 11/05/08