Many corporations use their archives as promotional public relations. Company museums of memorabilia including selected records are open to the public and help bring the history of the company to life. The breadth of their corporate knowledge has led many archivists to upper management positions. The present goals of archivists extend beyond becoming leaders in the archival field to becoming leaders in society. The increased marketing of archives is the foundation of the gains made by the profession over the past twenty to thirty years.
Archives are now familiar places among many in the general population.
Gone is the stereotype of archives as cold, dark places paper goes to die, replaced by the perception of archives as places that house valuable information. The initiative to incorporate archival experience into primary and secondary education has succeeded in introducing children to archives. Elementary school children take field trips to local archives and virtual tours of repositories worldwide. The children experience the thrill of seeing original documents that relate to their studies in school. In the upper grades, students learn the value and methods of original source research.