Not Just Business as Usual: Evolving Trends in Historical Research at Baker Library

Abstract

Since its founding, Baker Library has collected rare and unique materials to support the curriculum of the Harvard Business School. Today, Baker Library holds one of the preeminent collections of historical materials on business history and economic philosophy in the world. Included in the collections are manuscripts, rare books, pamphlets, broadsides, photographs, prints, trade catalogs, trade cards, and annual reports. The earliest records extend back to the banking and patronage activities of the Medici family in the fifteenth century. Harvard Business School students and faculty as well as leaders in the field have used this resource material to learn from the experiences of the past and to understand the historical development of business functions. More recently, however, the material has also been drawing ever-increasing numbers of international students and scholars from a broad range of disciplines, such as cultural anthropology, ethnic and gender studies, industrial archaeology, sociology, fine and decorative arts, maritime history, and engineering. This essay presents an overview of the Baker Library collection, traces changing uses and users, and reviews current plans for the future of the collection and its place within the Harvard Business School and the wider world of American business history.