Hello, and welcome to the news site for the National Association of Manufacturers processing project. This is a four-year project to process the post-1970 records of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). The project is broken into two segments. The first year is spent working with the Department of Audiovisual Collections and Digital Initiatives, and the last three years will be working in Manuscript and Archives Department, both part of Hagley’s Library.
The records of the National Association of Manufacturers are an essential collection for understanding the developing relationship between business and government in the twentieth century, and matters of importance to manufacturing businesses. So far, material through the early 1970s has been made accessible. This project will preserve and make accessible an additional 880 linear feet of records, images, audiovisual, electronic, and published documents from that period to the present day.
So what is the National Association of Manufacturers? According to the NAM website,
“The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states…The NAM is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States. The NAM’s world-class staff of policy experts provide unmatched access and information on the key issues affecting [businesses] and bottom line. [They] are on the front lines of a wide range of policy battles, from immigration reform and labor relations, to energy and the environment, to trade policy and taxes.”
To read more about the NAM collections at Hagley, please see the current finding aid available online. To read about the history of NAM, visit their website.
As the collection is processed, I will be sharing behind-the-scenes looks, interesting finds, and general updates. Please sit back and enjoy the journey.
Ashley Williams is the NAM Project Archivist at the Hagley Library.