Model for Business Archives Present Scenario and Challenges. Ashok Kapoor

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1 Model for Business Archives Present Scenario and Challenges Ashok Kapoor

2 Planning and Prioritizing Organizing business archives from scratch is very difficult and challenging Piecemeal approach Acquisition of records Determine type of facilities require Availability of resources Framing of policies Acquisition of records, Archival and Records Management policy and Preservation policy

3 Planning and Prioritizing (cont.) Survey of records transfer to Archives Facilities and services for Archives and Researchers Alteast 5 or 10 years development plan Assessment of budget and staff and infrastructure requirements

4 Formulation of Policies Acquisition Policy Reluctance of departments to transfer records Short Film or PPT On the Spot Appraisal of Records Archival and Records Management Policy (ARMP) ARMP is regarded as the Bible of Archives Minimum Records Business houses keep minimum records relating to the laws of limitation and regulatory compliance purposes

5 Formulation of Policies: Establishment Policy Objectives Objective of setting up Business Archives, activities, and functions it would perform Authority of Business Archives Range of service offered Type of records it would require Final Authority In the field of Records Management, Business Archives would be the final authority Streamline Records Management Process Establishment policy empowers the Archives to streamline the Records Management processes

6 Record Access Policy Access to records are available or not Terms and conditions required to be fulfilled Whether photocopies or scanned images are available What type of records are available for research Do s and dont s in the Research room Requisition and restoration processes Clarification on copyright issues

7 Preservation Policy Objective: Obviate potential damage to records Preventive Conservation Curative Conservation Restoration of Documents Preservation of Records: Responsibility of Entire Staff Periodical Surveys: To Prevent Damage and Deterioration Archives should have integrated Pest Control Programme

8 Access and Reference Policy Access Policy: Differ from country to country Access normally includes three types of records Open, Restricted, and Closed Reference Services denotes the facility provided to the Research Scholars to facilitate their research Brochure containing introductory information about Archives proves useful Archivists working in the Research Room should have adequate knowledge of the Research Room

9 Archives Building and Storage Area Archival repository can be a building, a floor, a room, or cupboard Material in Archives can be of diverse nature and requires different sorts of environment Archives should have working environment that are safe, secure, healthy, comfortable, aesthetically pleasing and accessible Archives area should be conveniently divided into units Shelving should be functional, easy to clean, and secure for records Temperature degree Celsius relative humidity level be 45% to 55% Smoke detection and fire suppression system should be installed

10 Advocacy and Outreach Take Initiatives For image building, the Business Archives should take initiative in organising works in workshops, lectures, in-house programmes, press releases, exhibitions Sensitize Internal Staff Before targeting external people, it would be necessary to sensitize the internal staff Involve People Involve scholars, donor of papers, administrators, and volunteers in organizing events Close Liaison with Media Need for maintaining close liaison with media FAQs FAQs can be put on website Attitude of Staff Attitude of staff should be positive and helpful Selling Souvenirs

11 Staff Training Short duration programme for staff covering all cadres Such training programmes create archival awareness and sense of involvement Training should be arranged for Archives staff to update their knowledge and skills

12 Business Archives: Indian Scenario Business Archives in India is in its nascent stage Many companies (even 100 years old) are without Archives India has a strong tradition of establishing Public Archives but not Business Archives Even new companies established after India s independence showed no interest in establishing Archives

13 Indian Scenario: Delhi Cloth Mill The first Business Archives was established in India in 1983 The objective was to write biography of its Founder Sir Shri Ram In controlled economy of those days, DCM was to Delhi what Tata Sons was to Mumbai After biography was written, the DCM Archives fell in oblivion and records so meticulously collected remained neglected and languished So, the first Business Archives succeeded in its objective but failed in preservation of heritage of the company for future generations

14 Tata Steel & Tata Central Archives The house of Tata is 137 years old Industrial conglomerate. 150 th Birthday of Jamshetji Nusserwanji Tata ((Founder of group) prompted the need the establishing Archives JRD Tata had huge collection of personal records. For History project, taken up in 1978, Important records were collected The holding of Archives are huge and diverse Archives have fully functional building with latest equipment

15 RD Tata s letter to JRD Tata dated 31 st October 1922

Godrej Archives Located in Mumbai, Godrej is one of the well-equipped Archives in India The idea of establishing was taken in 1995, two years prior to the centenary celebrations Sohrab Godrej, the

16 Godrej Archives Located in Mumbai, Godrej is one of the well-equipped Archives in India The idea of establishing was taken in 1995, two years prior to the centenary celebrations Sohrab Godrej, the then Chairman of the Godrej Group, envisioned Archives to be a heritage centre. The holdings of the Archives are varied and divided into 6 sections manuscript collection, photographs, audio-visual, oral history, memorabilia, and printed material Godrej Archives has undertaken in-house digitisation of records Records are kept in ambient storage condition; acid free boxes are used to store records Records are open for access purposes

17 Jawaharlal Nehru, First Prime Minister of India using Godrej typewriter in 1955

18 RBI Archives, Pune The first Business Archives to be established in India in 1981 For over 34 years, the Archives has been engaged in identifying, acquiring, preserving records, and making them accessible to Research Scholars Ambient storage conditions exist in the Archives Has microfilming unit, preservation facilities including vacuum fumigation chamber, and offsite backup centre for microfilms Training programmes are conducted for staff at all levels Archives and Records Management Policy issued in 2012 Oral History Project Permanent Exhibition on Evolution of RBI

19 Reserve Bank of India Share Certificate

20 State Bank of India, Kolkata The influx of the European merchants into the Indian subcontinent resulted in altering the prevalent banking system Europeans established managing agency houses which combined banking system with their commercial and trading activities The earliest progenitor of SBI was erstwhile Bank of Calcutta established in 1806 with objective to stabilise interest rates and mobilise credit SBI was established in 1955

21 State Bank of India, Kolkata (cont.) SBI formed the History department in 1975 to unearth, identify, locate and collect records of historical interest The records collected pertained to the minutes and proceedings of the meetings of the Board of Directors of Presidency banks and their successor bodies SBI Archives and museum were inaugurated in 2007 in a heritage building The holdings of the Archives consist of records from 1806 to 1955

22 The Bank of Bengal building. It was constructed in 1825 on the banks of River Hooghly.

23 More Than a Century Old Companies Without Archives Bennet and Coleman Bombay Dyeing Britannia Biscuit Company Established in 1838 Involved in newspaper publication business Exposure to Archives is limited to microfilming of newspaper Engaged in timber, tea, and textile business Was established in 1879 by Nowrosjee Wadia Initial business of the company was ship building Established in 1892 in Calcutta with an investment of Rs.295 During the World War II, it shipped biscuits for the British soldiers Century Spinning and Manufacturing Company Established in 1897 by Nowrosjee Wadia and engaged in textile business Calcutta Electricity Supply Company Registered in London in 1897 to supply power to Calcutta

24 Advertisement of CESC

25 More Than a Century Old Companies Without Archives (cont.) Dabur India Established in 1884 by Dr. S.K Burman in Calcutta t make ayurvedic medicines EID Parry Imperial Tobacco Company (ITC) Oldest business entity of Indian subcontinent Established by Welshman Thomas Parry in 1788 in Madras 4 billion dollar company engaged in multi industrial and commercial activities Established in 1910 in Calcutta Engaged in business of cigarettes, hotels, consumer products, packaging, and apparels Jessop & Company Has a 227 years history which very few can match Established in 1788 as Breen & Company Claims to be the oldest engineering company in the East of Suez Canal

26 More Than a Century Old Companies Without Archives (cont.) Kirloskar Brothers Established in 1888 in Belgaum, Karnataka Engaged in agricultural tools, pumps, and machine tools Punjab National Bank (PNB) (1895) and Bank of Baroda (BOB) (1906) First banks established with Indian capitals Shalimar Paints Established by two British nationals, A.W. Turner and A. N. Wright in 1902 in Calcutta First company to manufacture paints in South East Asia market TVS & Sons Established in Madurai, Tamil Nadu in 1911 Engaged in automobile parts

27 Managing Agency Houses Names like Assam Tea Company, Andrew Yule, William Magar, Harrison Malayalam, Bengal Chemicals and His Master s Voice (HMV) were very popular Andrew Yule established in 1863 managed 37 companies Assam Tea Company is the world's oldest tea company With passage of time, may agency houses were taken by the Marwaris (Indian business community) Calcutta gradually faded as political and commercial capital of India

28 Reasons for Non-Setup of Business Archives Business houses were not aware of benefits that can accrue with establishment of Archives Traditional habit of looking at all new initiatives from profit-and-loss motive Lack of space and infrastructure Preserve records only for audit and regulatory compliance Fear of espionage from competitors Cover up their malpractices; things shrouded in secrecy

29 Challenges Ahead Electronic and paper records have to be dealt by the Archivists (who need to upgrade their skills) Need for setting priorities to deal with core and allied activities Need to create archival consciousness Systematic approach towards developing Archives

Mythological Conclusion The Ancient Romans worshipped a deity called Janus, who had opposing heads: one looked at the past and the other looked at the future.

information as and when required and save heritage of the company for future generations.

30 Mythological Conclusion The Ancient Romans worshipped a deity called Janus, who had opposing heads: one looked at the past and the other looked at the future. Present day Archivists need to be like Janus for looking at the past for records which would be used not only for writing history but support business houses by providing requisite information as and when required and save heritage of the company for future generations. Similarly, Brahma, the Lord of creation in the Hindu mythology, is depicted with four heads. For the present day Archivist, the four heads should work for archives administration, records management, preservation of records and assimilation of new technologies in archives. Janus Lord Brahma

31 Thank You! Open House?!

Archival Research Guide

Archival Research Guide IDENTIFYING RECORDS The online Archives Search provides a range of options for identifying records in the West Vancouver Archives. Quick Search offers the simplest way of searching