Company archival records are an essential component in fully understanding a corporation’s advance from fledgling entrepreneurial enterprise to industry giant. Baker Library’s growing collection of late 20th and 21st century resources focuses on the records of innovative companies and leaders who have shaped the world economy.


Examples of these contemporary archives include technology firms, like the Polaroid Corporation, known for the iconic instant camera; Wang Laboratories, an early computer industry leader; and the Kenneth H. Olsen collection, documenting the work of the computer engineer, entrepreneur, and co-founder of Digital Equipment Corporation. The growth of the modern financial world is documented in the papers of groundbreaking venture capitalists such as Peter O. Crisp; pioneering leaders like John Diebold in the field of automation; and the records of Lehman Brothers, the former investment bank. These contemporary archives contain a variety of resources, from paper records, to audio-visual materials, to digital materials of all types.