The Administrative records series provides insight into the IDSA’s organizational structure, its long- and short-term planning, and its day-to-day business affairs. Founding documents, bylaws, and policy manuals found in this series reveal the governing policies that formed IDSA’s values and structure. Organizational assessments and strategic planning documents show the framework of IDSA’s objectives and the organization’s strategies for achieving its goals. Election records and financial records can also be found here.

The Administrative records series also includes materials that shed light on IDSA’s advocacy activity and membership relations. Of particular interest are several amicus curiae briefs submitted on behalf of industrial designers litigating intellectual property cases. Materials in the series created by local chapters illustrate the sort of activities available to IDSA members at the local level.

Meeting agendas and minutes from Board of Directors meetings, Executive Committee meetings, and Planning Committee meetings form the bulk of this series. The meeting agendas often included supplemental documents, and together with the meeting minutes, these materials are rich with information pertaining to the internal and external activity of the organization. Topics addressed include membership initiatives and growth, budget planning and financial earnings, strategic planning, programs and events, updates and changes to bylaws, and personnel changes. The agendas and minutes also note requests for IDSA’s endorsement or sponsorship of events that other agencies planned to produce.

Finally, a small amount of material discusses IDSA’s Design Foundation, a spin-off entity that furthered IDSA’s ability to raise funds and offer scholarships. The bulk of the material consists of the entity’s founding documents and meeting minutes.

The Administrative records series is divided into 13 subseries: Organization history and legal documents; Bylaws and policy manuals; Organizational assessment and strategic planning; Officer elections; Officer meeting agendas and minutes; Officer and staff files and directories; Professional interest committees and section records; Regional and student chapter records; Financial records and grants documentation; Advocacy records; Membership records; Design Foundation/World Design Foundation records; IDSA website and internal software.

The Organization history and legal documents subseries mostly contains IDSA’s founding documents. These documents are arranged alphabetically and include items such as a certificate to transact business, tax exemption documents, and trademark certificates. Also included is a brief history of the organization written in 2009 and a few letters, telegrams, and newsletters from the predecessor societies that merged to form IDSA.

The Bylaws and policy manuals subseries includes bylaws, primarily from 2004 through 2015, and policy manuals from the 1990s and early 2000s. The subseries is arranged by topic, then chronologically.

The Organizational assessment and strategic planning subseries is arranged alphabetically by item type, then chronologically. The bulk of the material is from the late 1990s and early 2000s. Of particular note in this subseries is an external organizational assessment from April 2004 that reviewed IDSA’s strengths and weaknesses and provided recommendations for improvement.

The Officer election subseries includes election records primarily from the 1990s and early 2000s. IDSA members voted for local and national leadership roles, and the election records often include candidate biographies, unused ballots, and election results. The subseries is arranged chronologically.

The Officer meeting agendas and minutes subseries includes the agendas and minutes from Board of Directors meetings, Executive Committee meetings, and Planning Committee meetings. The subseries is arranged first by group, then chronologically. The material covers the late 1980s through the early 2000s, with the bulk of the material coming from the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The Officer and staff files and directories subseries includes directories of national staff and IDSA’s officers. Directories are arranged by type, then chronologically. Directories are only available for certain years, and most years are from the late 1990s and early 2000s. The subseries also includes the identified files of IDSA officers and staff. These files are arranged alphabetically by last name. The files of Kristina Goodrich, who was executive director of IDSA from 1999 to 2006 and communications manager from 1981 to 1998, form the bulk of this subseries. Goodrich’s files are from 1988 through 2006, and mostly include her internal and external correspondence, as well as presentations she created for various events.

The Professional interest committees and section records include materials that special interest committees and sections produced, such as meeting minutes and reports. These groups are not equally represented, and some committees and sections may not be represented at all. Nevertheless, the materials provide a cross-section of the committees that were active within IDSA during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Committees appear first in the subseries, and are arranged alphabetically. Sections appear second, and are also arranged alphabetically.

The Regional and student chapter records subseries primarily contains materials generated by the regional chapters. Chapters are not represented equally. The bulk of the materials comes from the Northwest Chapter, and includes scattered newsletters from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Submission materials to the Northwest Chapter’s 2006 Northwest Design Invitational competition are also present. The New York chapter is also well-represented. The New York chapter materials include a short run of newsletters from 1986 through 1990 and a collection of pamphlets and placards announcing chapter events. There are no specific student chapter records in this subseries, but the subseries does include presentations that explain how student chapters can be formed and what functions they serve. The subseries is arranged alphabetically by chapter. Student chapter material appears at the end of the subseries.

The Financial records and grants documentation subseries mostly contains materials generated from grants that IDSA received from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Endowment for the Arts. The materials document the purpose of the grants and IDSA’s use of the grant funding. These materials are arranged alphabetically by the granting institution. The subseries also includes financial statements and budget planning from scattered years during the late 1980s, late 1990s, and 2007. These materials appear first in the subseries and are arranged chronologically. Researchers interested in IDSA’s financials should also consult the Officer meeting agendas and minutes subseries found earlier in this series. The meeting agendas often included supplemental documents that illustrated IDSA’s financials.

The Advocacy records subseries includes materials connected to IDSA’s advocacy work for the industrial design profession. The subseries is arranged alphabetically by topic. Topics addressed include a Congressional inquiry into the potential of a Federal Design Council, design protection litigation, and the feasibility and usefulness of an industrial designer certification program.

The Membership records subseries mostly includes membership appeal materials. There are two membership applications: Nathaniel Becker and Dale H. Beck. There are also scattered membership lists, reports, and studies. The subseries is arranged alphabetically by document type. Researchers interested in complete lists of members should consult the member directories found in series II, subseries A.

The Design Foundation/World Design Foundation includes the available records for this IDSA spin-off entity. The subseries is arranged by document type.

The IDSA website and internal software subseries includes materials that document the planning of IDSA’s official website and the digital files used to create the site. It also includes instructions for using some of IDSA’s internal software. The subseries is arranged alphabetically by item type.