Papers presented by Erik Rau since 2019
2020 Charlotte, North Carolina
"Scenes from an Archive: The Work of Aligning Interests of Business Organizations and Historians"
Erik Rau, Hagley Museum and Library
Abstract:
A fundamental problem facing the business history community is ensuring the preservation of and securing access to reliable and complete documentation describing the activities of business organizations. This is so at least in part because the interests the sources of such documents (business organizations) have interests often distinct from those engaged in historical research. For a research library like Hagley, a substantial part of collections development is the work of aligning these two sets of often disparate interests. Not content to be relegated to a role as Corporate America’s undertaker, Hagley’s efforts include working with living business organizations, necessarily bringing their interests into alignment with those of historical researchers. This work is itself historically contingent and reveals ways in which, at different historical moments, cooperation can flower. This paper will discuss several episodes in Hagley’s collections development that shed light on this alignment work. Inevitably, Hagley and its staff has its own interests that also factor into its actions and decisions—its alignment work. The sum of the episodes presented here underscore that our knowledge of the corporate past is held jointly and by courtesy. This nature can present opportunities for engagement and collaboration.
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2020 Charlotte, North Carolina
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Erik Rau, Director, Library Services, Hagley Museum and Library