Here's a real nice article from the OC Register about Dave Smith:
Dave Smith, the founder and head of the Disney Archives will dig into the archives for the last time when he retires Friday (today).
“I will take a lot of memories with me,” said Smith during a recent interview at the Walt Disney Co.’’s headquarters in Burbank.
A new head takes over Monday to continue documenting the history of Walt Disney and the company that bears his name.
Though he will no longer be on the job, don’t look for Smith to take off his mouse ears any time soon.
“I have my Disney Encyclopedia, Disney A to Z
, which I plan to keep up,” said Smith. “Even now, we update it every month on the Disney website. I will continue doing that.” Smith started the archives after being approached by Walt Disney’s family, including Roy O. Disney — Walt’s brother — four years after Walt’s death in 1966, to preserve the history of Walt Disney
.“It grew from that into, ‘We need to preserve the history of the whole organization,’ ” Smith said.
That included going back and documenting the early history of the plans for what eventually became Disneyland, and the people who helped Walt realize his dream for an innovative theme park that became the foundation for the Disneyland Resort
.Smith says that archiving company histories is important to American culture and society.
“Business in the U.S. has been a very important part of the whole culture of our country, especially in the last 100 years. I feel it is important for these businesses to preserve their history and to make it available for those who are curious about how they became successful,” Smith said.
In retirement, Smith says he plans to travel. He brags that he has been to all 11 Disney theme parks. He hopes to visit the one planned for Shanghai when it opens. Smith also plans to continue making appearances at Disney fan conventions.
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