Story Archive

Wake-Up Call

The fire storm that burned down 1 in 20 homes in Santa Rosa, Calif., also took down a couple of “modular buildings” at Keysight Technologies. Inside: the collected archives of William Hewlett and David Packard — founders of the iconic Hewlett-Packard Co. in 1938, in a garage that’s “the Birthplace of Silicon Valley,” according to its Historic Landmark designation. The “irreplaceable” papers, which included photos, correspondence, and speeches by the two high-tech icons, were valued at $1.9 million 12 years ago, with the appraiser saying the archive was “of the highest possible historical value” in the history of technology and business. Archivist Karen Lewis was brought in by H-P to build the archive. When she first saw the papers and photos, “I realized, ‘Oh my god, this is the history of Silicon Valley. This is the history of the electronics industry.’” She kept the archive in a humidity-controlled vault with a fire protection system, not a shed, where Keysight put it when it took over H-P’s electronics test and measurement business; Keysight apparently didn’t hire an archivist to protect the valuable asset. A Keysight spokesman brushed off criticisms, saying the company “took appropriate and reasonable steps” to safeguard the archives. “This is a sad, unfortunate situation,” spokesman Jeff Weber said. “This is a time to begin healing, not assign blame.” (RC/Santa Rosa Press Democrat) ...If only H-P made document scanners, so that there wasn’t a single copy of everything.