This thesis attempts to identify the reasons why business archives have not been widely developed in North America and to suggest the changes which are necessary to correct the situation. Although this study addresses itself specifically to the experience of business archives, many of the issues it discusses can easily be related to other forms of corporate archives such as those, for example, of a municipality, university, labour union, or hospital. All corporate archives confront the common problem that the practical value of an archival programme must be clearly demonstrated. This usually involves justification based primarily on administrative rather than cultural criteria. Therefore, this study aims overall to place business archives within a broader discussion of the purposes which archives ought to serve in our community. The underlying theme of this thesis is the need to formulate a more comprehensive view of the role of archives than has been evident in the past, one which is sufficiently flexible to respond to the changing and diverse requirements of modern society. This requires that the archivist accept a broader role than he accepted in the past, when he often served as a passive custodian patiently awaiting the arrival of "retired" documents. An analysis of the development of business archives illustrates that a strictly historical criterion for maintaining records has met with only limited success in the corporate community. Rather than attempting to convince businessmen as to the cultural benefits (important as they are) to be derived from the establishment of an archival programme, it might be more prudent to emphasize new potential services which could be rendered to the sponsoring agencies. In exploring this proposition the thesis first considers the elements influencing the historical growth of business archives and then suggests potential new areas into which corporate archivists might move. The study also discusses the ramifications of these changes for issues such as appraisal and access and, finally, identifies those factors which will be particularly important in determining the future success of business archives. In assuming such a broad approach to the study of corporate archives, the thesis raises some fundamental questions about the orientation of the archival profession and, as such, may contribute to the formulation of archival theory. / Arts, Faculty of / Library, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS), School of / Graduate

This thesis surveys the efforts made by Canadian and American records administrators, both records managers and archivists, to ensure that records are created, received, stored, used, preserved, and disposed of in a manner which is both efficient and effective. Beginning with the French Revolution and continuing to modern times, it investigates how approaches in North American archival thinking, government records programs, and applicable records legislation were often flawed because of fundamental misconceptions of the nature of the records themselves. The thesis traces how the most widely accepted approach for administering records, which called for the division of responsibilities amongst records professionals according to the records' "life status" — active, semi-active, or inactive — was incorrect because it was not compatible with the reality that records exist as a conceptual whole and are best administered in a manner which reflects this realization. The records, which should have been managed as a coherent and complete fonds of an institution, suffered from these divisions which had eventually led to the evolution of separate records occupations: those who looked after active records, called records managers, and those who handled inactive ones, labelled archivists. What was required was an "integrated" or "unified" approach such as that articulated by the Canadian archivist Jay Atherton. Like others, he called for the management of records in a manner which reflected the singular nature of the records, an approach which did not make arbitrary divisions where none existed, but instead viewed records from a wider and more complete perspective. Support for this approach amongst some records administrators was precipitated by a number of factors, not the least of which were the demands of handling information in modern society. The thesis concludes by examining what is required for the integrated ideas to be implemented as part of a practical model in today's institutions. It suggests that for the best results to be achieved, records administrators will have to learn to work with others in related information professions, or risk losing the ability to make valid contributions in the modern information age.

This thesis surveys the efforts made by Canadian and American records administrators, both records managers and archivists, to ensure that records are created, received, stored, used, preserved, and disposed of in a manner which is both efficient and effective. Beginning with the French Revolution and continuing to modern times, it investigates how approaches in North American archival thinking, government records programs, and applicable records legislation were often flawed because of fundamental misconceptions of the nature of the records themselves. The thesis traces how the most widely accepted approach for administering records, which called for the division of responsibilities amongst records professionals according to the records' "life status" — active, semi-active, or inactive — was incorrect because it was not compatible with the reality that records exist as a conceptual whole and are best administered in a manner which reflects this realization. The records, which should have been managed as a coherent and complete fonds of an institution, suffered from these divisions which had eventually led to the evolution of separate records occupations: those who looked after active records, called records managers, and those who handled inactive ones, labelled archivists. What was required was an "integrated" or "unified" approach such as that articulated by the Canadian archivist Jay Atherton. Like others, he called for the management of records in a manner which reflected the singular nature of the records, an approach which did not make arbitrary divisions where none existed, but instead viewed records from a wider and more complete perspective. Support for this approach amongst some records administrators was precipitated by a number of factors, not the least of which were the demands of handling information in modern society. The thesis concludes by examining what is required for the integrated ideas to be implemented as part of a practical model in today's institutions. It suggests that for the best results to be achieved, records administrators will have to learn to work with others in related information professions, or risk losing the ability to make valid contributions in the modern information age. / Arts, Faculty of / Library, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS), School of / Graduate

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