SAHJ306
[…] printed matter, about 4.5 million pho- tographs, more than 10,000 videos and more than 15,000 volumes in the library, among them the oldest German-language automotive journals. The paperwork includes minutes of board and advisory board meetings, the fi les of former CEOs and board members, printed matters docu-menting the products (and catalogues, price lists, owner’s manuals, spare parts lists, workshop manuals etc.), press kits, technical drawings, advertising material such as posters and advertisements, and also the original commission books from the period 1885 to 1945 and vehicle data documents on about 10 million individual cars built from 1946 to 1986. The vehicle collection includes about 1000 vehicles of which 160 are on display in the Mercedes- Benz Museum. The Award Committee was impressed that the Archives & Collection department takes seriously its dual role as consulting entity and service provider not only within the company but also with the public. The Archives are open by appointment ( free of charge) to researchers and scholars worldwide. About 100 persons per year visit the Archives for research purposes. The number of written inquiries mainly by e- mail but still also by letter is much higher of course: about 1600 a year. For basic research on product history and corpo- rate history topics including photos, an easy-to-use, self-explanatory multimedia database is available to the public on the worldwide web. It is accessible via mercedes-benz-publicarchive.com In the last fi ve years more than two million users have used the database, downloading more than 300,000 files (mainly photos). Apart from the database that provides information and photos in an encyclopedic approach the Classic department operates a comprehensive internet page providing information on the achievements, activities and portfolio of the department. It is acces- sible via mercedes-benz.com/de/classic/ […]