Bureau of Business Practice Collection
Abstract
The publishing company that eventually became the Bureau of Business Practice (BBP) began as a small, private venture, the National Foreman's Institute (NFI), in Essex, Connecticut, in 1915. For the first thirty-five years of its existence, NFI was exclusively a publisher of training materials for the first line of industrial supervision. The Bureau of Business Practice Collection consists of publications dating from the years when the BBP was known as the National Foreman's Institute to just prior to the closing of the BBP Branch of Aspen Publishers. Publications such as the "Better Secretaries Series" from the early 1960s focus on training for office employees through instruction in secretarial principles, such as accounting or letter writing. Topics range from labor issues in Labor Relations Bulletin to common concerns of the secretary in such publications as Just Between Office Girls and Office Guide for Working Women.
Important Information for Users of the Collection
This collection is open for research.
Bureau of Business Practice Collection, Special Collections, University of Maryland Libraries
Photocopies of original materials may be provided for a fee and at the discretion of the curator. Please see our Duplication of Materials policy for more information. Queries regarding publication rights and copyright status of materials within this collection should be directed to the appropriate curator.
This collection is PROCESSED.
Historical Note
The publishing company that eventually became the Bureau of Business Practice (BBP) began as a small, private venture, the National Foreman's Institute (NFI), in Essex, Connecticut, in 1915. For the first thirty-five years of its existence, NFI was exclusively a publisher of training materials for the first line of industrial supervision. In 1950, NFI moved to New London, Connecticut, where they expanded their product line of monthly newsletters into the sales and industrial security field. Employee-handout publications and management and supervisory books also became part of the profile. Vision, a magazine publisher with major properties in the South American market, acquired NFI from its original owners in 1959 and established a publishing facility in New London, housing Croft Educational Services and several smaller, unrelated operations, along with NFI. Prentice Hall bought NFI in 1960 and moved the business to Waterford, Connecticut. Within three years, Prentice Hall had also bought Croft and added some book operations from its New Jersey locations to the Waterford division, now renamed the Bureau of Business Practice. BBP expanded their scope to a wide array of business and organizational categories, all focused on employee, supervisory, and management training. Products included newsletters, books, videotapes, posters, and training services. Notable publications from the BBP include Payroll Manager's Letter, Fair Employment Practices Guidelines, Labor Relations Bulletin, Office Guide, and Creative Secretary's Letter. Annual sales rose from $1 million in 1960 to $40 million in 1985, when the conglomerate that would become Paramount Communications acquired Prentice Hall. Paramount soon began divesting itself of its non-entertainment-related properties, and it sold Prentice Hall to Viacom. Viacom sold the Professional Information Group, of which BBP was a part, to Hicks Muse, which in turn sold it to Wolters Kluwer in June 1999. Aspen Publishers, a part of Wolters Kluwer International, acquired BBP in 1999. The BBP branch of Aspen Publishers in Waterford, Connecticut, closed in August 2003, although Aspen Publishers is still in existence, with headquarters in New York City.
Scope and Contents of the Collection
The Bureau of Business Practice collection spans the years 1944, when the company was known as the National Foreman's Institute, to 1989. The collection consists primarily of pamphlets and serial publications from the company, focusing on management, and office and secretarial work.
Custodial History and Acquisition Information
Elaine Stattler of Aspen Publishers donated the Bureau of Business Practice collection to the University of Maryland Libraries in August 2003, when the Waterford, Connecticut, branch closed.
Processing Information
Processed by Jennie Anne Levine, September 2003.
The publications were placed in acid-free folders and stored in acid-free boxes.
EAD markup created using EAD database in Microsoft Access. Markup completed by Jennie A. Levine.
Detailed Description of the Collection
Series 1: Publications, 1944-2002 (4.50 linear feet)
Series I consists of publications from the Bureau of Business Practice, dating from the years when it was known as the National Foreman's Institute to just prior to the closing of the BBP Branch of Aspen Publishers. Publications, such as the "Better Secretaries Series" from the early 1960s, focus on training for office employees, through instruction in secretarial principles, such as accounting or letter writing. Also included are serial publications and newsletters distributed by BBP. Topics range from labor issues in Labor Relations Bulletin and in Disciplines and Grievances, to common concerns of the secretary in such publications as Just Between Office Girls and Office Guide for Working Women. Just Between Office Girls and early issues of Office Guide for Working Women addressed women specifically, offering advice, for example, on the right type of makeup to keep in one's desk drawer, how to decorate, and how to take an effective vacation, as well as vocabulary and typing lessons. BBP dropped "for Working Women" from the title of that publication in 1976 and focused primarily on concerns of office culture by printing articles dealing with office psychology, promotions, conversation skills, efficiency, customer service, and new technology. Supervisor's Bulletin and Sales Manager's Bulletin address concerns faced by those in the managerial ranks. Arrangement is alphabetical by title, although the items in the "Better Secretaries Series" are filed together.
| Description | Series | Box / Reel | Folder / Frame | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Better Secretaries Series -- Accounting ABC's for Secretaries, 1962 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Better Secretaries Series -- Complete Guide to Correct Forms of Address, 1962 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 2 | |
| Better Secretaries Series -- Desk Guide to Good Letter-Style, 1962 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 3 | |
| Better Secretaries Series -- Fast Filing, Finding, and Follow-up, 1962 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 4 | |
| Better Secretaries Series -- How to Write a Good Letter, 1961 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 5 | |
| Better Secretaries Series -- The Personal Side of Writing Letters in Business, 1963 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 6 | |
| Better Secretaries Series -- Secretary's Desk Guide to Business Law, 1963 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 7 | |
| Better Secretaries Series -- Short Cuts in Business Math, 1961 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 8 | |
| Better Secretaries Series -- Streamlining the Secretary's Workload, 1963 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 9 | |
| Career Institute Course in Practical English, 1961 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 10 | |
| Careless Carl, 1955 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 11 | |
| Chucklegrams, 1952 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 12 | |
| Clear the Deck, 1949 (1959 printing) | series 1 | box 1 | folder 13 | |
| Creative Secretary's Letter, 1992-1993 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 14 | |
| Creative Secretary's Letter, 1992-1993 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 15 | |
| Creative Secretary's Letter, 1994-1999 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 1 | |
| Creative Secretary's Letter, 1994-1999 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 2 | |
| Creative Secretary's Letter, 1994-1999 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 3 | |
| Creative Secretary's Letter, 1994-1999 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 4 | |
| Creative Secretary's Letter, 1994-1999 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 5 | |
| Creative Secretary's Letter, 1994-1999 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 6 | |
| Discipline and Grievances -- #243-290, 1961-1965 | series 1 | box 3 | folder 1 | |
| Discipline and Grievances -- #291-320, 1965-1967 | series 1 | box 3 | folder 2 | |
| Discipline and Grievances -- #321-350, 1967-1970 | series 1 | box 3 | folder 3 | |
| Discipline and Grievances -- #351-381, 1970-1972 | series 1 | box 3 | folder 4 | |
| Discipline and Grievances -- #622-630, 1992-1993 | series 1 | box 3 | folder 5 | |
| Do You Agree?, 1954 | series 1 | box 4 | folder 1 | |
| Echoes, nos. 154-155, 1954 | series 1 | box 4 | folder 2 | |
| The Enchanted Goose, 1953 | series 1 | box 4 | folder 3 | |
| Essential Assistant, 1998-2002 | series 1 | box 4 | folder 4 | |
| Essential Assistant, 1998-2002 | series 1 | box 4 | folder 5 | |
| Essential Assistant, 1998-2002 | series 1 | box 4 | folder 6 | |
| For Line and Staff Supervisors, 1958-1959 | series 1 | box 4 | folder 7 | |
| The Foreman and the Veteran, 1946 | series 1 | box 4 | folder 8 | |
| The 4 izes: Visual, Organ, Deput, Superv, 1948 | series 1 | box 4 | folder 9 | |
| How to Train Your Assistants, [undated] | series 1 | box 4 | folder 10 | |
| How Would You Say It?, 1962 | series 1 | box 4 | folder 11 | |
| Ike, You Can Count On Me! (The Dynamics of Selling), 1954 | series 1 | box 4 | folder 12 | |
| Increasing Office Efficiency, 1959 | series 1 | box 4 | folder 13 | |
| Inflation Could Happen Here!, 1944 | series 1 | box 4 | folder 14 | |
| Inviting the Undertaker, 1949 | series 1 | box 4 | folder 15 | |
| Just Between Office Girls, 1958-1959 | series 1 | box 4 | folder 16 | |
| Just Between Office Girls, 1960-1969 | series 1 | box 5 | folder 1 | |
| Just Between Office Girls, 1960-1969 | series 1 | box 5 | folder 2 | |
| Just Between Office Girls, 1960-1969 | series 1 | box 5 | folder 3 | |
| Just Between Office Girls, 1960-1969 | series 1 | box 5 | folder 4 | |
| Just Between Office Girls, 1960-1969 | series 1 | box 5 | folder 5 | |
| Just Between Office Girls, 1970-1973 | series 1 | box 6 | folder 1 | |
| Labor Relations Bulletin, 1993-2002 | series 1 | box 6 | folder 2 | |
| Labor Relations Bulletin, 1993-2002 | series 1 | box 6 | folder 3 | |
| Labor Relations Bulletin, 1993-2002 | series 1 | box 6 | folder 4 | |
| Letter to Americans, 1953 | series 1 | box 6 | folder 5 | |
| Mary Smith: A Tribute To A Successful Secretary, 1948 | series 1 | box 7 | folder 1 | |
| The New Prentice Hall Profit Sharing Plan, undated | series 1 | box 7 | folder 2 | |
| Office Girl's Workshop, 1966-1968 | series 1 | box 7 | folder 3 | |
| Office Girl's Workshop, 1966-1968 | series 1 | box 7 | folder 4 | |
| Office Guide [for Working Women], 1973-1981 | series 1 | box 7 | folder 5 | |
| Office Guide [for Working Women], 1973-1981 | series 1 | box 7 | folder 6 | |
| Office Guide [for Working Women], 1973-1981 | series 1 | box 7 | folder 7 | |
| Office Guide [for Working Women], 1982-1989, 1994 | series 1 | box 8 | folder 1 | |
| Office Guide [for Working Women], 1982-1989, 1994 | series 1 | box 8 | folder 2 | |
| Office Guide [for Working Women], 1982-1989, 1994 | series 1 | box 8 | folder 3 | |
| Office Guide [for Working Women], 1982-1989, 1994 | series 1 | box 8 | folder 4 | |
| Office Supervisor's Bulletin, 1962 | series 1 | box 8 | folder 5 | |
| Office Workers' Manual, 1950 | series 1 | box 8 | folder 6 | |
| Sales Manager's Bulletin, 1960 | series 1 | box 8 | folder 7 | |
| Sales Manager's Bulletin, 1961 | series 1 | box 9 | folder 1 | |
| The Secretary's Guide to a Graceful Figure, 1967 | series 1 | box 9 | folder 2 | |
| The Secretary's Guide to Handling People, 1970 (1989 printing) | series 1 | box 9 | folder 3 | |
| Secretary's Miracle Kit of Business English Aids and Letter-Writing Shortcuts, 1982 | series 1 | box 9 | folder 4 | |
| The Secretary's Workshop, 1988 | series 1 | box 9 | folder 5 | |
| Skill in Handling People: Motivation, 1951 (1956 printing) | series 1 | box 9 | folder 6 | |
| Supervisor's Bulletin, 1960, 1965-1966 | series 1 | box 9 | folder 7 | |
| Supervisor's Bulletin, 1960, 1965-1966 | series 1 | box 9 | folder 8 | |
| Teller Sense, 1972-1973 | series 1 | box 9 | folder 9 | |
| Teller Sense, 1972-1973 | series 1 | box 9 | folder 10 | |
| Thank you! By Dale Carnegie, 1952 (1956 printing) | series 1 | box 9 | folder 11 | |
| Tips and Shortcuts in Typing, Dictation, Filing and Office Procedure, 1964 | series 1 | box 9 | folder 12 | |
| What's Ahead for the Veteran?, 1946 | series 1 | box 9 | folder 13 | |
| What the New 1948 Draft Law Means To You and Your Family, 1948 | series 1 | box 9 | folder 14 | |
| Women in Business: A Handbook for Business Girls, 1961 | series 1 | box 9 | folder 15 | |
| You and Your Job, 1958 | series 1 | box 9 | folder 16 | |
Related Material
The University of Maryland Libraries holds several publications from the Bureau of Business Practices in its collection. Researchers may find these materials by searching the University of Maryland Libraries' Online Catalog under "Author: Bureau of Business Practice."
For other related archival and manuscript collections, please see the following subject guides.
Selected Search Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the University of Maryland Libraries' Catalog. Researchers desiring related materials about these topics, names, or places may search the Catalog using these headings.
Subjects
- Bureau of Business Practice -- History -- Sources
- Business literature -- Publishing
- National Foremen's Institute -- History -- Sources
- Office management -- Archival resources
- Supervisors, Industrial -- Training of -- Archival resources