Consumer Reports. James A. Guest papers, 1936-2015
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Summary
- Creator:
- Consumer Reports (Firm)
- Abstract:
- Consumer Reports is a product testing and consumer advocacy nonprofit organization based in Yonkers, N.Y., founded in 1936 as Consumers Union. James Guest served Consumers Union as a member of the Board of Directors (1980-2001) and President (2001-2014). Collection includes audiovisual optical disks; clippings; correspondence; executive planning documents; photographs; policy manuals; survey research reports and other printed materials. Topics include institutional anniversaries; Board of Directors membership and tenure; financial management and advocacy; health and medical care and insurance; consumer health and patient advocacy. Institutions represented in the collection include the American Board of Internal Medicine; American Council on Consumer Interests; Consumer Federation of America; and Consumers International. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.
- Extent:
- 10.0 Linear Feet
- Language:
- Materials in English.
- Collection ID:
- RL.11968
Background
- Scope and content:
-
Collection includes audiovisual optical disks; clippings; correspondence; executive planning documents; photographs; policy manuals; survey research reports and other printed materials. Topics include institutional anniversaries; Board of Directors membership and tenure; financial management and advocacy; health and medical care and insurance; consumer health and patient advocacy. Institutions represented in the collection include the American Board of Internal Medicine; American Council on Consumer Interests; Consumer Federation of America; and Consumers International.
- Biographical / historical:
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Consumer Reports is a product testing and consumer advocacy nonprofit organization based in Yonkers, N.Y., founded in 1936 as Consumers Union. James Guest served Consumers Union as a member of the Board of Directors (1980-2001) and President (2001-2014).
James A. Guest was born in 1940 and attended Amherst College (BA, Economics, 1962) and Harvard Law School (JD, 1967). After graduation Guest was a legal assistant for Senator Ted Kennedy (1968-1971) before joining the Vermont state government (Commissioner of the Banking and Insurance Department 1973-1976; Secretary of State 1977-1981; Secretary of the Development and Community Affairs Agency 1985-1987). Guest worked as a talk show host (WJOY, 1983-1984) and served as president of both Planned Parenthood of Maryland (1989-1995) and the Center to Control Handgun Violence (1996-1997). Guest was also Director of the American Pain Foundation (1997-2001). James Guest joined the Board of Directors of Consumers Union in 1980 and remained a member until his election as President to succeed Rhoda Karpatkin, who retired in 2000. Guest retired from Consumer Reports in 2014.
- Acquisition information:
- The Consumer Reports. James A. Guest papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift in 2019.
- Processing information:
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Processed by Richard Collier, Feb. 2022;
Accessions described in this collection guide: 2019-0130.
- Arrangement:
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Organized into the following series: Administrative and General Files; Consumers Union Anniversaries; History Files; Personal Files; Health Policy Files.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Subjects
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Contents
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- Restrictions:
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Access restricted. Collection is closed by donor request until 2040. Collection also contains fragile audiovisual formats that may need to be reformatted before use. Contact Research Services for access.
- Terms of access:
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The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the Rubenstein Library's Citations, Permissions, and Copyright guide.
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- Please consult our up-to-date information for visitors page, as our services and guidelines periodically change.
- Preferred citation:
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[Identification of item], Consumer Reports. James A. Guest papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
- Permalink:
- https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m18b2z