Consumer Reports Archives Exhibitions

For ninety years, Consumer Reports has been the premier source for product reviews and ratings, consumer advice, and consumer issues advocacy in the United States—and a model for consumer movements around the world. The nonprofit organization manages a complex of testing facilities, advocacy and outreach offices, and a media operation that delivers content through radio, television, and online, in addition to the popular Consumer Reports magazine and seasonal Buying Guides.

The Consumer Reports Archives at Duke comprises 69 manuscript collections totaling over 1,300 linear feet of records, as well as a large collection of books, magazines, buying guides, reports, and examples of test equipment. The collections include administrative and departmental records; papers of key management, staff, and board members; and records relating to a wide range of consumer cooperatives, buying clubs, and activist groups within the United States and abroad. The archives present a rich resource for research on a broad range of topics, including product safety, health advice, low-income credit, pesticide use, the publishing industry, consumer education, and more, all of which complement existing holdings found in the Rubenstein Library’s Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.

Bringing the Consumer Reports Archives to Duke involved four years of planning, starting in 2015. Rubenstein Library staff made numerous trips to the Yonkers, New York, headquarters to survey, inspect, barcode, and supervise the transfer of the archives to Durham. Processing the manuscript collections began in 2019 and continued for three years, even during the COVID lockdown.

This exhibit presents an overview of the materials available in the Consumer Reports Archives. It explores the origins of Consumer Reports, its publishing and advocacy activities, its history of product testing, and the organization’s role in the global consumer movement.

This exhibit has been prepared by:

Richard Collier Jr.:Technical Services Archivist, John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History
Steven Kramer: Consumer Reports Exhibit Assistant & Digitization Coordinator
Joshua Larkin Rowley: Research Services Librarian, John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History
Jacqueline Wachholz: Director, John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History

The curators would like to thank Meg Brown, Kate Collins, Michael Daul, Johanna Hamby, Henry Hebert, Yoon Kim, Angela Nettles, Neal Shipe, Aaron Welborn, the Digital Production Center and the support of the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter foundation.

The wall graphics were designed by James Jarvis and printed and installed by Ben Alper.