It is a commonplace that in the `Information Age', knowledge is the most important factor in the longterm success of an organisation. Such an emphasis is increasingly important as businesses confront a series of intransigent organisational problems connected with the retention and provision of organisational histories, knowledge and skills. `Organisational memory' and its sister concept, `knowledge management', are common glosses for the analysis and treatment of these problems. We analyse some of the conceptual and empirical issues that must precede attempts to provide support for `memory' and `knowledge' in the wider organisational context.