In October 2000, the Biddle Law Library and the American College of Bankruptcy collaborated to create a special collection entitled the National Bankruptcy Archives (NBA), a national repository of materials relating to the history of debtor-creditor relations, bankruptcy and the reorganization of debt. The NBA collects records from the American College of Bankruptcy (ACB), the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges (NCBJ), as well as from other organizations whose activities have been relevant to the history of bankruptcy and insolvency legislation, regulation, and administrative and judicial determination. The NBA also houses papers of individuals who have influenced the field, and other collections documenting the history of bankruptcy law.

 

The National Bankruptcy Archives currently contains over 1,000 linear feet of personal papers, organizational records, and other collections related to the history of bankruptcy law in the United States. The collection currently spans the years 1948-present, with the bulk of the collection beginning in the late 1970s and extending to the present.

 

For more information, please visit the websites of the ACB and NCBJ. To view the web archive of the National Bankruptcy Archives, please click here.

NBA Photographs

Photographs from various organizations and events that are documented within the National Bankruptcy Archives, dated from approximately 1988 to 2013. Major collections consist of photographs from the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges events, as well as events of the American Bankruptcy Institute and the American College of Bankruptcy. 

ACB Senior Fellows Stories

Written responses to the prompt "How I Got Started in Bankruptcy." These stories were written for the American College of Bankruptcy Senior Fellows Written History Project. The project was created by the Senior Committee and the Bankruptcy History Committee in 2023 when they began collecting accounts from fellows.

NBA Oral Histories

The Oral History Collection is a unique resource that documents the history of bankruptcy in America through first-person narrative accounts. These interviews highlight the people, communities, and participants tied to past bankruptcy events. The NBA's oral history holdings are composed of projects from 1993 to the present day, and many of these oral histories are available online with full or partial transcription. Common topics of discussion in the oral history interviews include the interviewees’ childhood and education, interviewees’ involvement in the field of bankruptcy, significant bankruptcy cases, and how the 1978 US Bankruptcy Code altered the practice of bankruptcy law.

All NBA Collections

Browse all NBA collections, including oral and written histories as well as photographs.