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Re: When does a Company's administrative history end?



Catherine,
 
Our collections encompass over 2,000 companies going back 130 years, and I run into this problem constantly. It's compounded by the predominantly subject-based (i.e., type or model of machine) reference and filing we use. I play it on a case-by-case basis, based on the circumstances or nature of the change in the business. Apart from the outright cessation of operations, I've observed the following situations:
If a product line is continued from one company name to the next, records of individual machines are referenced to the name under which they were built while all other records are referenced as outlined above. This is done out of consideration for people who are restoring machines and want to paint and letter them correctly.
 
This logic does run into challenges. To name a couple:
Again, I have to judge each situation on its own merits.
 
Just to make things even more interesting, we also have many collections of photographs and slides in which any number of manufacturer's products are shown. Each collection is identified by its own provenance where known (and for a lot of them it isn't), and the machines shown in them are cross-referenced to the other collections for the records of their manufacturers.
         
Hoping this is of help without confusing things further,
 
Best wishes,
 
Thomas Berry, Archivist
Historical Construction Equipment Association
16623 Liberty Hi Road
Bowling Green, Ohio 43402
Phone 419-352-5616
Fax 419-352-6086
tberry@wcnet.org
http://www.hcea.net
 
 
 
----- Original Message -----
From: "Nolan, Catherine" <NolanC@YARRACITY.VIC.GOV.AU>
To: <ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU>
Sent: Thursday, June 28, 2001 7:42 PM
Subject: When does a Company's administrative history end?

> Dear Archives & Archivists LISTSERV,
>
> When does a Company's administrative history end?
>
> While writing up administrative histories for some Australian businesses,
> which are part of the Australian Business Archive Directory I have been
> faced with a quandary of when does an administrative history end, especially
> for businesses that have been taken over by another company. Does, for
> example, Company A's administrative history end once it is taken over by
> Company B as its operations become part of Company B's and therefore part of
> its administrative history and yet, for example, Company A's  retail stores
> still operate under the Company A name, creating their own records?
> Name changes are also another issue.
>
> I'd appreciate any feed back on this matter.
>
> Regards,
>
> Catherine Nolan
>
> Archivist and Special Projects Officer
> Email: nolanc@yarracity.vic.gov.au
> Web: www.yarracity.vic.gov.au
>
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