Special Collections and Archives

Special Collections and Archives' de Gaspé Beaubien Reading Room is open to all users. Schedule an appointment to confirm the material in which you're interested is available and ready for you in the reading room when you arrive. Please contact specialcollectionsref@hbs.edu for additional information on our access policies.

Request an Appointment

If you are unable to visit to use our collections, please reach out to us at specialcollectionsref@hbs.edu so we can work together to meet your research needs. 

LIBRARIANS AND ARCHIVISTS ARE AVAILABLE TO:

• Provide in-depth reference via email, phone, or web conference to determine the scope of your research project and evaluate how staff can best meet your needs remotely
• Direct you to relevant digital resources and newly available collections
• Schedule remote access to microfilm collections
• Assist you in planning future research visits or reproduction requests

Baker Library collects and makes available the records of business dating from the 14^th century to the present and the records of the Harvard Business School since its founding in 1908. These varied collections include corporate archives, manuscripts, account ledgers, rare books, broadsides, photographs, company annual reports and audiovisual and digital materials, as well as works of art by a diverse range of artists from around the world.

While the collections contain extensive materials on American businessmen and leaders from the colonial period to the present, we are actively working to expand both the diversity and global scope of Baker Library’s collections, with a particular focus on acquiring the records of women and Black business leaders. We are also reviewing and engaging deeply with our existing collections in order to highlight materials and works by women, Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), as well as enslaved people and immigrants, represented in our holdings.

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

As a research library committed to collecting, preserving and making accessible resources that document the history of business, Baker Library welcomes a wide range of researchers to explore our rich collections.

As members of the HBS community, we embrace the actions outlined in HBS’s action plan for Advancing Racial Equity & Diversity.

As members of the Harvard Library community, we stand in unity with Our Responsibilities: A Message from Martha Whitehead.

Within Baker Library Special Collections and Archives, we recognize that we must make clear how we intend to take meaningful action against structural racism and inequality. To that end we will:

• Address any offensive or harmful language in our collection descriptions and cataloging and make those descriptions more conscious and inclusive by revising our descriptive and cataloging practices going forward using our Guiding Principles for Conscious and Inclusive Description;
• Extend access to our collections through digitization and enhanced web content;
• Increase the diversity of our collections starting with the contemporary business archival collecting program by seeking out the records of Black leaders in business and entrepreneurs, preserving their legacy, and providing access to primary data for scholars and practitioners worldwide.

We welcome comments and suggestions on this statement and our work at specialcollectionsref@hbs.edu.

November 2021