Business Archives

The Scottish Council on Archives supports business archives in Scotland and this section contains an overview and more information about business archives, the National Strategy for Business Archives in Scotland (2010-2016) and the Scottish Business History Network.

The Scottish business archive community is in a strong position thanks to many years hard work led by the National Records of Scotland, the Business Archives Council of Scotland (BACS) and the University of Glasgow Archive Services.Scotland has a well-established corporate archives sector and a wealth of business and related records are in the custody of public archives, museums, universities, libraries and communities. Many businesses retain their own records which have been surveyed and made accessible through the National Register of Archives for Scotland.

The records of Scottish businesses, business-related bodies and industrialists provide crucial commentary not only on Scotland’s economic, political and social development, but also on that of the UK and many countries around the world.  It is crucial that they are valued, representative of economic activity and innovation, accessible to all and supported and developed by strong networks and partnerships.

In 2018, SCA collaborated with the Scottish Business History Network to produce Enterprising Scotland: A Celebration of Scottish Business Archives to highlight the importance and rich variety of business collections across Scotland. The pamphlet can be viewed here.