Archives of Interest

The fabulous International Business Machines has a publicly available corporate archives site. (The archivist there is a guy I've met a few times.)

When you think about how much of our lives are computer driven (and that you are reading this, I assume, on some sort of computer), you begin to appreciate the impact companies like IBM have had on the world. To think also of IBM's predecessor companies beginning their work in the 1880's, you begin to realize the crazy paths that history sometimes takes. It's hard to conceive in 1885 that punch card machines would lead to instant communication anywhere in the world (as well as massive timewasters like blogs), and yet here we are.

IBM is also an example of Corporate Archives at work. What you're seeing here is only the tip of the iceberg. The archives there is providing research, insight, and information to people around the world, both internally and externally. It's a unique function in a corporation, and one that many organizations don't appreciate.