The Consumer Reports Archives, now open for research at the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University Libraries

The Consumer Reports Archives at the Rubenstein Library (Duke University Libraries) cover the operations of the nonprofit organization starting in 1924 through 2015. The "massive collection" was acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History in 2019. It is now open for research as archivists and catalogers continue to fully process the collection.

The finding aid describes the collection in detail:

"Consumer Reports is a product testing and consumer advocacy nonprofit organization based in Yonkers, N.Y., founded in 1936. The Consumer Reports Archive was first established in 1972 as the Center for the Study of Consumer Movements. Collection includes correspondence, forms, photographs, policy and procedure statements and other printed materials that pertain to the operation support activities of the Consumer Union Archives. Included are files relating to archival administration and records management for the organization, reference requests and reference files relating to exhibit planning, Consumers Union and consumer movement history, and photocopied materials for individual research requests on various subjects. Organization resources include staff biographies; collection finding aids, indexes, and inventories; card and microfiche files."

To read more about the news and some of the content of this important collection see Duke Today's article on December 9th, "How Consumer Reports kept lipstick long lasting and HDTVS amazing."