Records of the Business Equipment Trade Association (BETA) and related organisations. The collection includes a complete run of 27 volumes of council minutes, from July 1951 to December 1980. The minutes reflect the association's preoccupation with its role as a public relations body, and with issues affecting its membership, such as VAT or decimalisation. Issues discussed reflect the changing commercial climate, illustrating the increased use of microelectronic technology, although individual products are seldom mentioned unless they are the subject of a dispute. Considerable time is also given over to general internal and administrative matters, and to the continued examination of BETA's aims and activities. Two divisional minute books provide a taste of the activities of the association's sections. Council working papers and correspondence include duplicate minutes of council meetings, reports to council on executive committee meetings, press cuttings, and correspondence relating to association luncheons. A sample of the association's journal is also included.
