Otis Elevator Company
Establishing an Archives
Winthrop Group established the Otis Elevator Company Historical Archives at the request of the company’s CEO. For twelve years a Winthrop archivist was responsible for processing and maintaining the Archives, for developing the collection, and for responding to all reference and research requests which originate both internally and externally. The archival collections are used for a wide variety of purposes, including intra- and extra-company communications purposes, special events, engineering research, customer relations and legal support. Although he was on the Winthrop Group payroll, the Archivist functioned as Otis Elevator Company’s dedicated archivist and was entrusted with all professional responsibilities including processing and making available archival records in all formats, preparing and updating the database catalog and other finding aids, and assisting employees with their information and reference needs. At the end of the twelve years the Archivist position was internalized by Otis and continues to this day.