Series consists of records created and received by the Industry Department (IND) units, previous units and successors, related to managing the industry and mining portfolio and strategy and directing the research, policy, and project work of the department.

EISIC Subject files

A substantial portion of records are thematic, or subject files (1972 - 1987) primarily organized by specific industry subsector that contain correspondence, reports, and other material created by division chiefs and seniorstaff and often copied to the Office of the Director that were maintained in the EISIC. The more predominant subjects include the following industries or subsectors: alcohol; coal; fertilizer (phosphate and nitrogen); mining and minerals; pulp and paper; lead and zinc; steel (including iron ore); textiles; oil shale; refinery; science and technology; capital goods; as well as individual files on several other industries.

Files contain mainly copies of internal memoranda or cables between the Office of the Director (INDDR) to division chiefs and other IND staff and Bank departments including in the Regions, or to INDDR reporting office, Senior Vice President, Operations Policy (SVPOP). A broad range of subjects are covered, such as: summaries of visits to external organizations and meetings; representation at conferences or other events; arrangement of consultants for studies or reviews; review and comments on department papers or data (including commodity price projections); compilation and sharing of project data; discussion of project practice and impact of sector review (pricing, subsidization); sector issues and trends (new technologies, commodity pricing systems). Memoranda are occasionally in the form of Terms of Reference (TORs) for studies or missions, and back-to-office reports (BTORs) including copies of regional staff BTORs. There are also originals and copies of incoming letters and outgoing letters between IND senior management or staff and representatives of external organizations or government offices regarding: invitations or confirmations to participate in external meetings or conferences; proposed projects for the sector; and sharing of information on projects and common issues.

Other record types occasionally filed with the correspondence include: consultant reports; draft and final background papers or reports; agenda; list of participants; commodity and industry data such as price projections, company revenues, and production; external journal articles or press clippings; and other items.

Several files are titled "Industry Department general correspondence" (1977 - 1987) and industry sector reports (1973 - 1986). The general correspondence records cover a broad range of topics ranging from routine to substantive matters originating from IND successor, the Industrial Projects Department (NDP, later IPD). Topics of the latter include: division work program and budget, Bank lending program, confirmations on appointments and divisional assignments; Bank programs and activities in related sectors; procedural changes; and training requirements. Routine matters cover staffing and consultants, recruitment, bidding process, and other administrative matters. Files also contain copies of memoranda from Operations Vice President Ernest Stern to operational vice presidencies and Regional Vice Presidencies.

A set of "industrial strategy and policy" files (1982 - 1987) mainly reflect the various activities of the Industrial Strategy and Policy Division (INDSP). Memoranda covers arrangement of seminars, draft guidelines, summaries of meetings with external organizations representatives and government officials, budget and work plan, dissemination of draft papers including policy papers for comments, delegation of authority, and other matters.

NRIC correspondence and related records

The series also contains some correspondence files (1978 - 1986) authored by IND senior management and advisers and chiefs that were originally sent to the Bank's centralized records in the Non-Regional Information Center (NRIC). Files are titled "industry", "mining", and "general" and include mostly memoranda and letters that cover the various sector activities such as policy work, sector studies and projects, division work programs and organizational structure, and liaison with external organizations. "General" correspondence files cover various routine and substantive matters; among the latter includes notes about sector projects, policy and analysis, comments on regional lending program, IPD lending/work program, training components in Bank projects, sector activities in Regions, and external meetings. Attached documents include sector-authored yellow cover papers, published technical reports, draft policy papers or publication chapters, work program summaries, data tables (including lending operations); and external reports. A "General PIN" file contains drafts and final report, titled "World Bank Role in Non-Fuel Mineral Development", that outlines the potential for developing non-fuel indigenous resources in developing countries. "Mining" files are thin in volume. There is some overlap in certain records between these NRIC files and those above maintained in the EISIC as the department "working files"; however, this set of NRIC files is considerably smaller in volume and scope of sector activities.