Services of the RBHC

Services of the RBHC

Does your business need advice about how to care properly for its records? Does your business have records that may be of historical importance? If so, the Reynolds Business History Center may be able to help. Staff members can be available to consult and advise companies about what materials are truly worth keeping, how to care properly for documents and other types of records, and what the historic significance of their collections may be.

Basic questions can often be answered through a phone conversation or email exchange. But if a more extensive amount of time, and possibly a site visit, is needed, a fee may apply.(Site visits outside the Richmond metropolitan area may also require reimbursement of travel and lodging costs.)

*Staff members will provide some services at no cost if the records will ultimately be donated to the Reynolds Business History Center.

It is our experience at the RBHC that many businesses are not aware that their records may be of historical significance. They may even look at the papers and objects as a nuisance or a storage headache. But before throwing things away, please stop and consider contacting the staff of the Center. Below we have prepared a selection of the categories of records that have traditionally proven valuable to researchers:
  • Minute books and loose minutes of corporate directors
  • Acts of incorporation, constitutions and bylaws
  • Reports to shareholders and shareholder meeting records
  • Annual reports
  • Reports of officers to the board of directors or shareholders
  • Agreements and contracts
  • Architectural records, plans, and drawings
  • Brochures
  • Biographical files and directories
  • Employee newsletters
  • Handbooks, policy manuals, and regulations
  • Internal memoranda
  • Oral histories, memoirs, and audio/video tapes
  • Organizational charts
  • Press releases and press clippings
  • Public relations scrapbooks or record files
  • Legal opinions and briefs
  • Letterbooks
  • Correspondence of officers
  • Tax filings and returns
  • Personnel records (often restricted for limited periods)
Contact Us

Do you have questions about how to care for your company's documents or other records? Do you need assistance in determining the historic significance of your collection?

Please contact Laura Stoner, Senior Archivist, at 804.340.2281 or at lstoner@VirginiaHistory.org.