About Us

The network has been proactively supported by individuals, initially from the founder members and we appeal to those with an interest in business history and business archives to join the network and articulate what they’d like it to offer.

The Scottish Business History Network aims to connect all those – both individuals and organisations – with an interest in Scottish business history and business archives. The Network is an initiative of the Business Archives Council of Scotland and continues the advocacy and outreach work begun by the five-year National Strategy for Business Archives in Scotland 2011-16.

Find Out More

Aims & Objectives

1. Communication, partnerships and networks

  • Partnerships and networks between archivists, historians, museum curators, community archivists, industrial archaeologists, businesses, business-related bodies and policy makers need to be forged, encouraged and supported.
  • Such relationships, both within and outwith Scotland, are essential to ensure that the study of business history flourishes, business archives are properly managed, best practice shared, help and assistance offered, and the right frameworks created and sustained.  

2. Awareness and access

  • Improving access to, and awareness of, business and business-related archives will increase their use by businesses, historians and other users.  
  • Encouraging their use in all levels of formal education and life-long learning will open up the records to new audiences. Increased awareness of their potential use as a corporate asset and as part of corporate responsibility programmes will encourage investment in them.
  • Initiatives such as online registers, outreach programmes and centres of excellence for business archives and business history will improve and promote access for all users and provide signposts for businesses and researchers to source help and advice.

3. Leadership, education and training

  • The development of educational resources and best practice guidance for the custodians of business records and for business historians in all sectors and domains is vital to support the proper care, management and use of business archives and the researching and writing of business history.
  • Such resources will assist business archive owners to care for and utilise their collections and historians to write about our industrial and commercial past.
  • Supporting the personal development of records custodians and users through appropriate training and encouraging research into business archives and business history issues is crucial to ensuring that the business records and business history agendas continues to develop into the future.

Download